Whistler, B.C., Canada. Photo: Hossein Soltanloo//Unsplash
Five heli-skiers were rescued Monday after they were caught in an avalanche near Pemberton, British Columbia. Local officials reported the slide was triggered by “commercial activity” in the Whistler backcountry area known as “The Meadow.” However, law enforcement pointed out there weren’t any signs of negligence by the heli-skiing company involved.
The group consisted of four skiers and their guide from the company Whistler Backcountry. Four of the five were fully buried by the slide while the fifth was partially buried. Of those four that were fully buried, Constable Antoine Graebling with Whistler Royal Canadian Mounted Police says that two were stuck under the snowpack for as long as 10 minutes. Graebling also told media that the slide was rated a 2.5 (on a 1-5 scale). According to Avalanche Canada, a size two avalanche is enough to “bury, injure, or kill a person” and a size three avalanche “could bury and destroy a car, damage a truck, destroy a small building, or break a few trees.”
Luckily, the five victims were just one of two Whistler Backcountry groups on the trip, so the other group was able to start rescue efforts quickly.
“They were able to respond almost immediately as they witnessed the avalanche getting triggered and going down the slope,” Graebling told CBC News. “So the first rescue efforts were immediate.
“The avalanche was reported to have happened at about 11:30 a.m., and we were notified that at 11:32 a.m., rescue efforts were already on the way shortly after.”
