Avalanche Claims Two Snowmobilers

By Corey Fischer

Jan 14, 2019 | 10:05 AM

UPDATE:

The body of a 24-year-old man who was believed to have been caught in an avalanche and been swept into the lake near Mount Brewer has been located and his body recovered.

Police believe two snowmobilers from Alberta were killed after getting caught in an avalanche near Invermere over the weekend.

The body of a 51 year old Calgary man has been recovered, while a 24 year old Calgary man — the son of the first victim — is still missing and was believed to be swept into a lake.

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The two men were in a group of nine people snowmobiling on Mount Brewer near Invermere Saturday.

“The avalanche was reportedly triggered after one of the snowmobilers was high marking,” says RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk.

High marking is performed by snowmobilers in mountainous terrain, where an operator tries to ride as far up a steep mountain slope as possible, then turn around and come back down the hill without getting stuck, rolling the snowmobile or losing power.

Moskaluk says Columbia Valley RCMP requested the assistance of the local Search & Rescue team, who attended the location and recovered a 51-year-old male from Calgary. CPR was initiated and the male was flown to the Invermere and District Hospital where he was confirmed deceased.

“The RCMP’s Underwater Recovery Team attended on January 13th and search efforts will resume Monday morning.”

No injuries were reported to the other seven snowmobilers.

by Corey Fischer