One Dead, One Injured When A Group Of Four Snowmobilers Were Involved In An Avalanche Accident In The Purcell Mountains Near Golden, BC
Golden, British Columbia – At around 11 AM on Saturday, February 20, 2016 a group of four snowmobilers triggered an avalanche near Quartz Creek in the Purcell Mountain Range west of Golden, British Columbia. One of the snowmobilers was killed and one was injured.
The other two riders activated a GPS beacon and Golden and District Search and Rescue flew in by helicopter just after noon to assist.
The avalanche victim has not yet been identified, but he is a 30 year old from Calgary. The injured party is from Winnipeg and the other two riders are from Calgary.
This avalanche occurred the day after Avalanche Canada issued an avalanche warning across eastern and southeastern BC. that avalanche warning was issued from Friday February 19 to Monday February 22 affecting the North Columbia, South Columbia, the Purcells, and the Kootenay Boundary. Glacier National Park issued a similar warning.
The latest avalanche forecast from Avalanche.ca for the Purcell Mountains states that the avalanche was a size 3 avalanche on a west aspect.
We will try to update this post as more information becomes available.
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Read more about the avalanche fatality near Golden, BC that killed one snowmobiler from these sources:
- AM730.com
- Macleans.ca
- News1130.com
- Avalanche.ca
- Avalanche.ca Special Public Avalanche Warning for BC’s Central and Southern Interior Ranges
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This is 7th avalanche fatality in Canada during the 2015/2016 season:
- Five Snowmobilers Killed In Avalanche Near McBride, British Columbia
- Avalanche Kills Snowmobiler Northeast of Prince George, British Columbia (UPDATED)
