Incident Summary
- Date
- 2017-12-31
- Location
- Kootenay Pass
- Location Description
- Stagleap Park
- Province
- BC
- Coordinates
- 49.07937 °, -117.06430 °
- Elevation
- 1950 m
- Activity
- Backcountry Skiing
- Involvement
- 1
- Injury
- 0
- Fatality
- 1
- Description
- After skiing the top pitch of the run, a group of six skiers regrouped on an open treed bench to assess the final pitch. The final pitch was skied one at a time. The victim was the fifth person to ski the slope. When the avalanche triggered, the victim was on a steep, partially treed portion of the slope and was skiing over two other skiers’ tracks. One member of the group was standing above the crown and on the bench when the avalanche was triggered (all other skiers were out of the path of the slide). This individual found the victim who was located next to and just uphill of a tree, fully buried. Another rescuer arrived to help unbury her and CPR was administered. She was airlifted to hospital in critical condition and taken off life support a week later due to anoxic brain injury.
Avalanches
| Date/Time | Size | Type | Trigger | Elevation | Aspect | Slab width | Slab Thickness |
|---|
| 2017-12-31 12:00 | 2.5 | S | S | 1950 m | e | 125 m | 70 cm |
Weather
| Present Temp | Max Temp | Min Temp | 24hr Trend | Wind Speed | Wind Direction | Sky Condition | Precipitation Type & Intensity |
|---|
| - | - | - | Rising | L | sw | U | NIL |
Weather Comment: Previous storm had ended 24 hours prior to incident and since the storm end there had been 5cm settlement.
Snowpack
| Snowpack | 24hr Snow | Storm Snow | Storm Date |
|---|
| - | 0 cm | 60 cm | - |
Snowpack Comment: Approx 60cm new snow in 5 days building over Nov27 and Dec15 weak layers.
Documents
| Document Date | Title | Source | |
|---|
| 2018-01-03 | Photo of avalanche | MoTI | view |
| 2018-01-03 | Photo of avalanche | MoTI | view |