PRINCE GEORGE

Monday, January 29, 2024. Updated on January 31, 2024 at 2:10 pm.

UPDATE – Below is an update provided by the Chetwynd RCMP.

A 21-year-old man has died after an avalanche occurred on Mount Stephenson Saturday afternoon.

On January 27, 2024 at 3:25 PM MST, the Chetwynd RCMP received a report of a person caught in an avalanche on Mount Stephenson. Three men were sledding in the area of the bowl when one got stuck. As they were about to extract the snowmobile, an avalanche swept all three men away. Two of the men had avalanche gear and deployed their air bags. One of those two was buried slightly but quickly dug out. The third could not be immediately located.

A probe line search was conducted and the man was located approximately four feet under the surface. Sadly, the man did not survive the avalanche.

The Chetwynd RCMP continue to support the BC Coroners Service in the investigation.

An avalanche in the Hasler region, north of Prince George in the Pine Pass, has claimed the life of a snowmobiler…

The incident occurred on January 27, 2024, when the rider was in a chuted area near Hasler Flat, approximately 280 km north of Prince George. The rider was around the tree-line elevation when a slab of snow broke off and completely buried the rider.

Avalanche Canada states the slide was about 250 meters and rated a 2.5/5 in severity.

Avalanche Canada also stated that a group of snowmobilers were able to extract the rider from the snow but that the person was sadly deceased. Due to the risk of another avalanche occurring, the snowmobiling group was not able to collect any data from the scene as it was getting dark.

This avalanche fatality is the first for 2024.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Avalanche Canada said “We are saddened to learn of a fatal avalanche accident that occurred in the Hasler riding area in the North Rockies yesterday (Jan 27). Dangerous avalanche conditions exist across almost all of our forecast regions for tomorrow (Jan 28), as the warm stormy weather continues to destabilize the snowpack. In many areas, travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.”