The slopes near Whistler proved to be deadly over the past few days as RCMP reported a second death due to an avalanche Saturday (Feb. 13).
According to RCMP, they were notified of an avalanche in the Brandywine Bowl at about 2 p.m. Reports said that multiple people had been swept into the avalanche and that one person remained missing.
Whistler RCMP and search and rescue searched for the person in the Calaghan Valley area and found him about 45 minutes later. The 45-year-old man, who was from the Sea to Sky area, died as a result of his injuries. Authorities believe that a group of three had been caught up in an initial avalanche and were hit by a second while trying to get out of the area.
The RCMP and Coroners Service are continuing their investigation. This is the second fatality in the area in just two days. On Friday, a skier was killed in the Whistler backcountry after another avalanche.
“Four serious Search and Rescue calls in the last three days, two of them fatal, and a multitude of serious injuries,” said Sgt. Sascha Banks. “The calls speak for themselves…the backcountry in the Sea to Sky is not stable at the moment, its time to wait and postpone your touring trip here for another time. This is hard on all of us: Search teams, bystanders, police, and most importantly the loved ones of those who have died and been injured. Their stories have valuable lessons of which we all need to learn from.”
READ MORE: Skier killed, others injured in ‘high-risk’ avalanches this week near Whistler
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