GOLDEN, B.C. - One man was killed and a second snowmobiler was in hospital late Saturday following an avalanche near Golden, B.C.
Golden-Field RCMP said two other men were uninjured when the avalanche struck the four riders in the Quartz Creek area west of the community.
Golden and District Search and Rescue flew into the area by helicopter after police were notified just after 12 p.m. MT that an emergency GPS beacon had been activated.
Police said a 30-year-old Calgary man died in the avalanche and a 40-year-old man from Winnipeg was taken to hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
The two other riders were also from Calgary. No names have been released.
The incident came a day after Avalanche Canada issued an avalanche warning as potentially deadly snow conditions develop on slopes across parts of eastern and southeastern British Columbia.
The warning was in effect through to Monday in the North and South Columbia regions, the Purcell Mountains and the Kootenay Boundary.
“Recent new snow and wind have deposited up to a metre of new snow across these regions that overlays a weak layer,” Avalanche Canada forecasting supervisor James Floyer said in the warning.
He said this layer has fail a “number of times” over the past few days, resulting in some close calls.
“Our concern is that as the sun comes out this weekend, this weak layer will become more easily triggered. And with the amount of snow that's on top of it we could be seeing some very large and dangerous avalanches.”
Glacier National Park has issued a similar warning for backcountry users in that region east of Revelstoke.
Saturday's avalanche follows another in B.C. almost a month ago in which five snowmobilers were killed.
The five victims, all men from Alberta ranging in age from their early 40s to early 60s, died Jan. 29 near McBride, B.C.
