Incident Summary
- Date
- 2010-12-28
- Location
- Coquihalla Summit, Illal Mountain SE shoulder
- Location Description
- In the "10K bowl" sleeding area east of the Coquihalla Summit in the North Cascades Mountains.
- Province
- BC
- Coordinates
- 121.03690 °, 49.53944 °
- Elevation
- 1820 m
- Activity
- Snowmobiling
- Involvement
- 1
- Injury
- 0
- Fatality
- 1
- Description
- Party of two was travelling ahead of the rest of the group. 1st Snowmobiler triggered the slide as he was cresting the ridge top/bowl (he was unaware he triggered an avalanche).
The rest of the party came upon the debris, saw 1 or both of the second snowmobiler's sled's skis sticking out of the debris.
A search was commenced, the subject was found by probe 2-3m uphill of his snowmobile. It took 20 minutes to recover the subject.
It appears an airbag was deployed. Details about how/when are not known for certain as the avalanche was unwitnessed.
Avalanches
| Date/Time | Size | Type | Trigger | Elevation | Aspect | Slab width | Slab Thickness |
|---|
| 2010-12-28 12:30 | 3 | S | Ma | 1820 m | NE | 100 m | 60 cm |
Weather
| Present Temp | Max Temp | Min Temp | 24hr Trend | Wind Speed | Wind Direction | Sky Condition | Precipitation Type & Intensity |
|---|
| - | - | - | Falling | M | sw | BKN | S-1 |
Weather Comment: Tail end of 36 hours of moderate winds with gusts to 80km. 30-50cm storm snow fell in previous 48hrs. Winds Moderate to Strong previous 36hr.
Snowpack
| Snowpack | 24hr Snow | Storm Snow | Storm Date |
|---|
| - | 15 cm | 40 cm | - |
Snowpack Comment: Well settled mid to lower pack. SSL forming on lee features. Generally stable mid to lower pack. Easy to Moderate results within storm snow.
Documents
| Document Date | Title | Source | |
|---|
| 2010-12-28 | Maple Ridge man dies in snowmobiling avalanche nea | RCMP Hope | view |
| 2010-12-29 | Snowmobilers return to deadly B.C. avalanche site | globeandmail.com | view |