Lizard Range, British Columbia – On Monday, January 8, 2018 a 36-year-old backcountry skier from Alberta was killed in the McDermott Basin near the McDermott Cabin in the Lizard Range near Fernie, British Columbia in Canada.
The victim was part of a larger group of backcountry skiers staying at a backcountry cabin. The victim went skiing with one other individual when they were both caught in the slide.
One skier was partially buried and able to self rescue. That skier initiated a rescue and located and recovered the victim. Unfortunately, the skier did not survive. Both skiers had the appropriate avalanche equipment.
Fernie SAR was notified of the incident. They assisted the remaining skiers out of the area and recovered the body.
HEADS UP. Avalanche cycle – Lizard Range west of Fernie. Reports of numerous avalanches up to size 3.5 running at all elevations & aspects. Very dangerous avalanche conditions exist in mountainous backcountry areas near Fernie right now. Avoid avalanche terrain at this time. pic.twitter.com/qanFGjEvdF
— Avalanche Canada (@avalancheca) January 9, 2018
We will try to update this post when more information is available.
UPDATE:
According to Avalanche.ca, “Two skiers were caught in an avalanche near the McDermott Cabin 15 km east of Jaffray, BC. One skier was able to return to the cabin and seek assistance and shelter, the other was deceased. The fracture line was reported to be 100 cm deep and the avalanche is presumed to have run on the mid-December persistent weak layer. Slope angle was approximately 33 degrees.”
See Also: Global Avalanche Accidents 2017/2018
