KASLO, B.C. – An avalanche swept away a group of men heli-skiing in British Columbia’s backcountry, killing three of them, RCMP say.
Police said in a news release on Tuesday that the slide came down on the east side of Kootenay Lake in southeast B.C.
The release said the avalanche happened in an alpine area on Monday, taking a group of four heli-skiers.
A transport helicopter was nearing the group at a staging area when the pilot saw the avalanche coming and sounded the alarm, police say.
“One group of skiers was able to run out of harm’s way, while the other group of four was swept away into the tree line,” the RCMP release said.
Police say a 53-year-old guide from nearby Kaslo, a 44-year-old man from Whistler and a 45-year-old man from Idaho were all killed.
Kaslo Search and Rescue said in a statement that its crews responded to what they were told was a “serious avalanche” on Monday in the Purcell Mountain range.
The statement said the four men who were caught up were part of an organized operation that had experience with avalanches, and by the time their team arrived by helicopter the men had been found and pulled from the snow.
The rescue team was able to help try to revive the men and supported an evacuation of others from the mountain, it said.
“Unfortunately three of the skiers could not be revived and succumbed to injuries they sustained in the avalanche,” the statement said.
The fourth man, a 40-year-old from Nelson, was critically injured.
Avalanche Canada has rated the danger in the area around Kootenay Lake as high, from the alpine to below the treeline.
“Rising temperatures are creating very dangerous avalanche conditions and terrible riding quality. (There’s) no reason to go near avalanche terrain,” the forecaster says on it’s update from Monday.
Kaslo RCMP says it is helping the BC Corners Service in its investigation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2025.
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