Historical Incidents

Incident Summary

Date

2012-03-11

Location

Head of McKay creek, Ghost Peak, Revelstoke

Location Description

15 km SE of Revelstoke, BC in an alpine valley between Ghost Peak and Mt. Cartier

Province

BC

Coordinates

50.92580 °, 118.03510 °

Elevation

2038 m

Activity

Backcountry Skiing

Involvement

1

Injury

0

Fatality

1

Description

Two skiers entered top of wind-loaded lee slope one at a time. First skier stopped above a small band of cliffs populated by trees. Second skier skied upper slope and continued through the cliffs / trees onto lower slope. Heard first skier yell "avalanche" then skied off to the side out of the avalanche path. When slide stopped, first skier alerted other members of the party with a whistle and began beacon search. Other party members entered debris down-slope from first skier and located and uncovered buried member quickly. Immediately used Sat phone to call for assistance from SAR. Began CPR. After 30 min discontinued CPR. Revelstoke SAR arrived but was unable to remove deceased because of weather. Mixed rain / snow and rotor icing forced SAR group to retreat. SAR unable to return until the morning of the 13th due to high winds, blowing snow, and horrid flying conditions.