Incident Summary
- Date
- 2020-12-28
- Location
- Railroad Pass
- Location Description
- Above Hurley FSR approx 1km SE of Railroad Pass, 20km NNW of Pemberton
- Province
- BC
- Coordinates
- 50.59447 °, -123.00861 °
- Elevation
- 1650 m
- Activity
- Snow Biking
- Involvement
- 2
- Injury
- 0
- Fatality
- 2
- Description
- A party of four were riding snow bikes near Railroad Pass. Two riders went ahead and were caught in an avalanche, which was not observed by the others. The avalanche occurred on a relatively small slope in an open glade at treeline elevation with an incline of about 35 degrees. The avalanche was approximately 150 m wide by 150 m long.
The survivors and other users in the area noticed an avalanche crown with signs of human involvement and the party was reported missing late on December 28, but darkness prevented SAR operations that day. The following morning, RCMP and SAR teams using transceivers and rescue dogs located the two subjects buried about 50-100 cm below the surface in a terrain trap.
Avalanches
| Date/Time | Size | Type | Trigger | Elevation | Aspect | Slab width | Slab Thickness |
|---|
| 2.0 | S | Ma | 1650 m | W | 150 m | 70 cm |
Weather
| Present Temp | Max Temp | Min Temp | 24hr Trend | Wind Speed | Wind Direction | Sky Condition | Precipitation Type & Intensity |
|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Snowpack
| Snowpack | 24hr Snow | Storm Snow | Storm Date |
|---|
| - | - | - | - |
Snowpack Comment: Snowpack investigation at the site of the avalanche showed no result with a compression test. There was an indistinct, rounding layer of surface hoar at the level of the bed surface.
Documents
| Document Date | Title | Source | |
|---|
| 2020-12-29 | Fracture line | PemSAR | view |
| 2020-12-29 | Path | PemSAR | view |
| 2020-12-29 | RCMP Release | RCMP | view |
| 2020-12-29 | Path 2 | PemSAR | view |
| 2020-12-29 | Path 4 | PemSAR | view |
| 2020-12-29 | Path 3 | PemSAR | view |