A timeline of avalanche deaths in B.C. for the 2022-2023 season

Nine people have been killed in British Columbia avalanches this season, including four since Feb. 11. Avalanche Canada has warned that this year’s snowpack is dangerous and difficult to forecast. 

Here is a timeline of avalanche events this season:

Dec. 31: A skier suffers life-threatening injuries in a slide near Emerald Lake in southeast B.C., near the Alberta border, Avalanche Canada says in a report.

Jan. 5: Avalanche Canada warns of a touchy snowpack, with various weak layers created by long periods of drought and cold weather. “Riders have triggered large, scary avalanches with high consequences,” the advisory says.

Jan. 9: Two off-duty police officers are caught up in an avalanche near Kaslo, B.C., while backcountry skiing. Nelson Police Service Const. Wade Tittemore, 43, dies and Const. Mathieu Nolet, 28, sustains severe internal injuries.

Jan. 21: Nolet dies of his injuries in hospital.

Jan. 21: Two snowmobilers riding at the base of a slope near Valemount, B.C., accidentally trigger an avalanche from above, sending a slab of snow onto one rider while the other escapes. The buried rider is found unresponsive and dies.

Jan. 23: Heli-skiers and their guide are caught in an avalanche near Revelstoke, B.C. The two guests are dug out of the snow unresponsive and are both declared dead in hospital. The guide is taken to hospital in stable condition.

Jan. 23: A slide comes down on a one person near Cherryville, B.C. Emergency health services says the person is taken to hospital with undetermined injuries.

Jan. 24: Brothers and American businessmen Jonathan and Timothy Kingsley are identified by Pennsylvania-based Kinsley Construction as the victims of the slide near Revelstoke on Jan. 23.

Feb. 11: Two skiers are caught in an avalanche on Potato Peak, in B.C.’s Chilcotin area. Search and rescue were notified when the victims were reported overdue and their bodies were recovered at the site of the slide. 

Feb. 16: Five snowboarders and a skier were caught in an avalanche in a backcountry area near Golden, B.C., burying two people and partially covering a third person. The partially buried person survived, while the two others were killed. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2023. 

The Canadian Press