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1 dead after snowmobile-triggered avalanche near B.C.-Alberta border

The site of a Feb. 24, 2024, avalanche near the B.C.-Alberta border. (Southwestern Alberta Regional Search and Rescue) The site of a Feb. 24, 2024, avalanche near the B.C.-Alberta border. (Southwestern Alberta Regional Search and Rescue)
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One person was killed after a group of snowmobilers triggered an avalanche near the B.C.-Alberta border last weekend.

Another person was caught up in the slide but managed to escape, according to an incident report from Avalanche Canada.

The avalanche happened Saturday at Castle Wildland Provincial Park, and was classified as a "Size 3, persistent slab" measuring approximately 200 metres wide.

"The avalanche is believed to have failed on a layer of faceted crystals on a crust that was buried at the start of February," the Avalanche Canada website reads.

The other snowmobilers searched the area but were unable to find the victim, who was buried by the avalanche, and rode off to find help.

A search and rescue crew located the deceased the following day.

On Thursday, officials closed Highway 1 between Revelstoke and Golden due to ongoing avalanche risk in the area. 

B.C. recorded its first avalanche death of the year in late January, when a snowmobiler was caught in a slide near Chetwynd.

Last year, avalanches killed 14 people across the province. 

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