An adult male snowmobiler was killed in an avalanche Saturday morning in the Torpy Mountain recreation area, about 100 kilometres northeast of Prince George.
The unidentified person was part of group five sledders riding in the area when the slide occurred. The other four escaped uninjured and rode away from the avalanche slope. At about 11 a.m. they were able to reach a 911 dispatcher and RCMP contacted Emergency Management B.C. to request the assistance of a five-member crew from Prince George Search and Rescue (PGSAR).
Other Search and Rescue volunteers made themselves available to board a helicopter to enter the area of the slide but weather conditions at the time, with freezing rain and a low cloud ceiling, kept the aircraft grounded.
Search and Rescue workers used snowmobiles to get to the area and recovered the body of the fatally injured man. PGSAR spokesperson Dale Bull offered no details on the type of terrain where the body was located or how deeply buried the man was.
"It was a relatively quick operation once we got on site," said Bull. "The rest of the party who were not involved were all able to ride out on their own, they didn't need any assistance from us. It was just a matter of our crew going and retrieving the body and bringing it out."
Bull was unsure of the distance his crew had to ride on their sleds from where they parked their vehicles, but snowmobile travel on those trails was hampered by snow conditions.
"It probably would have been less than an hour in good riding conditions, but talking to the team leader who was out there, conditions were far from good and it was a more difficult ride in," said Bull. "I know they had issues with machines getting stuck and it took a lot longer than it would in optimal conditions.
"As soon as Search and Rescue was notified, the location was pinpointed already. We didn't have to do any searching. The RCMP had an exact latitude and longitude of the incident and that was passed directly to us."
There is no cell service in the area and Bull was unaware how the snowmobilers contacted the 911 dispatcher. RCMP said all five snowmobilers were experienced and properly equipped for backcountry travel. The B.C. Coroner’s Service is investigating the incident and will provide more information as it becomes available.
Because Saturday's incident resulted in a fatality, Bull said all PGSAR members who assisted on the call will be offered the services of the province's Critical Incident Stress Management Program.
Bull said this was the first fatal snowmobile accident PGSAR has attended since the November 2011 incident in which 40-year-old Dallas Mayert of Prince George was killed by an avalanche, also in the Torpy Mountain area.
On Friday, Avalanche Canada issued a warning for recreational backcountry users who planned to head out into the mountains. The warning was primarily for the northwest coast and south coast inland regions but also for six interior mountain ranges.
"The special advisory was issued and I don't know if this (Torpy) area was included in it," said Bull. "It was either right on the boundary or right outside of their special avalanche alert."
Recent snowstorms across the province buried an unstable layer that is particularly prevalent at lower elevations. The amount of new snow over the past week left all elevation bands potentially hazardous.
"We've had a relatively stable snowpack up to this point but things have changed now," said Avalanche Canada forecasting program supervisor James Floyer in a news release. "We urge all recreational backcountry users to recognize this shift and to exercise more caution. Staying safe in the backcountry this weekend requires selecting simple, low-angled terrain, even when you're at lower elevations below treeline."
