Banff National Park, Alberta – At approximately 4:30 PM on Friday, February 12, 2016 seven backcountry skiers from a group of eleven triggered a size 2 avalanche less than 1 km from the Bow Hut on the Wapta Icefield north of Lake Louise in Banff National Park.
According to Avalanche.ca, one skier was fully buried approximately 1m deep and was recovered by probe strike, a second was partially buried except mouth and 1 finger and broke a lower leg, and a third was partially buried on the surface and injured their knee. The group was prepared and was able to locate and extricate the injured parties. They called Parks Canada by satellite phone at 6 PM for assistance.
Due to the time of day and the avalanche conditions, Parks Canada advised them to find a safe place to spend the night. They made shelter near the base of the debris. On Saturday at 9 AM Parks Canada helped to rescue the skiers and flew one injured skier to Bow Lake by helicopter where they were taken to the hospital.
The avalanche was triggered on a convex terrain feature on a NE aspect at 2400m. It was 100m wide, 350m long and 40-80cm deep – size 2. The Parks Canada avalanche forecast for Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks on Friday, February 12, 2016 was considerable in the alpine, considerable at treeline, and moderate below treelike.
The Alpine Club of Canada manages the Bow Hut, which sits at 2,350m above Bow Lake on the east side of the Wapta Icefield. The Bow Hut sleeps 30 people and is a popular hut for the Wapta Traverse.
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Read more about the avalanche near the Bow Hut in Banff National Park from these sources:
- GlobalNews.ca
- CTVNews.ca
- Avalanche.ca Accident Report
- Parks Canada Avalanche Forecast for 12 February 2016
