Prince George, British Columbia, Canada – On Saturday, January 23, 2016 five snowmobilers were riding in the McGregor Mountain Range in the Torpy Trail riding area in Evanoff Provincial Park of British Columbia when at about 10 AM an avalanche struck and killed one member of the party. This remote area is approximately 120 km northeast of Prince George.
According to KelownaNow.com, the avalanche victim was a Prince George resident named Angelo Kenneth Carpino, 41.
The other four snowmobilers were able to notify Prince George RCMP by 911 call at around 11 AM. RCMP contacted Emergency Managagement BC and organized a five member crew from Prince George Search and Rescue (PGSAR) to respond to the scene.
PGSAR attempted to fly a helicopter into the accident site, but were unable to fly due to freezing rain and low ceiling. Instead they rode snowmobiles to the accident site from the closest trailhead and retrieved the body. The other four members of the party rode out on their own. All members of the snowmobile group were experienced and had the necessary equipment.
BC was under a special avalanche warning at the time of the accident. This accident happened near the border of that alert in the Northern Rockies Zone.
The BC Coroner’s Service is investigating the incident
We will try to update this post as more information becomes available.
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Read more about the avalanche fatality north of Prince George, British Columbia from these sources:
- CBC.ca
- PrinceGeorgeCitizen.com
- CfjcToday.com
- Avalanche Canada – Special Public Avalanche Warning
- Avalanche.ca Northern Rockies Forecast
- Avalanche.ca Accident Report
