Banff Avalanche

[kioti]

I just heard that there were three WA ice climbers that were caught in an avalanche up in Banff. Apparently, two were killed and one is 'missing'. Wondering if anyone has heard anything on this yet. I have aquaintences that are up climbing... hope it's not them.

 

Best hope and wishes to the missing climber and the families of all the climbers.

 

Alan

[sobo]

I was just about to post this question as well. It appears that my wife's ex-husband may be one of those killed. We got a call last night about 10:30.

 

I never met him, but they parted on good terms. He was quite a skilled climber and mountaineer. His brother is/was head of a Westside mountain rescue unit (Tacoma? Seattle?). Don't know yet if they were together when it hit. Any info that is out there would be appreciated by my wife. TIA.

[Careless_Ev]

i've been waiting for this topic to pop up, but i wont release the names.

 

i too knew the climbers. you'll hear more about them and the accident soon, as both are active in the outdoors and volunteered a great deal of their time to mountain climbing and rescue.

 

sobo is right, they were both outstanding men. this is very sad, my thoughts and empathy go out to their family, friends, and colleagues.

[layton]

lemme guess, polar cirus or lady wilsons?

fuck that sucks

[king5news]

I know this is difficult. Is it possible for you to put us in touch with someone who knows these guys -- who can talk about how they loved the outdoors, etc. -- WITHOUT releasing their names.

FYI -- the third body has just been found. So says CBC Calgary.

[Stephen_Ramsey]

So sorry to hear about this. Very sad news.

[Rodchester]

 

 

[king5news]

It is. Its sad when anyone loses their life -- but especially sad when its three people who have spent so much time saving others.

My thoughts and prayers are with their families.

[layton]

You don't have to withhold names to let us know what happened?

[Dru]

Here is the CBC story

 

http://calgary.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ca_avalanche20040213

 

I doubt pieps wouldve done much good here [note to news vultures reading this despite the inference your CBC colleague made]since the search did not begin for several HOURS after the slide.

 

I am going to guess the incident took place on Lady Wilson's....

 

Deaths are bad. MCTTFAF etc.

[king5news]

I think what you're asking is... can we release info without the names? Yes. We do it frequently to allow time for families to be notified.

We can still talk to friends who knew these people and talk about what kind of people they are/where.

[Careless_Ev]

sorry for the slow response. cc.com was LOCKING me out and i couldn't post.

 

i don't have any details, i just got a call from someone close to climbers. btw, i only heard word that 2 climbers died, not three... so that's why i'm hesitant to post details...

[king5news]

body of the third was found this morning.

News conference planned for 12 in banff. We're trying to get the newser satellited in in time for our noon.

[king5news]

we're being told two of the three are law enforcement. one works for redmond police -- the other for pierce county sheriff's department.

[JoshK]

Oh god , how awful. I remember from last year what an absolutely horrific terrain trap that is. My thoughts go out to their families.

[sobo]

yes, I can confirm that one worked for Redmond PD.

[Dru]

Here is another crappy news story on the web, COMPLETE WITH SUMMER PHOTO of Mt Wilson and since when is 100km "near Lake Louise"

 

http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=news_home&articleID=1527996

[king5news]

We've now confirmed the identities of two of the three. Jim Andreus, PCSO and John Miner, Redmond PD. We're told the third is also an employee of the city of Redmond but we're still awaiting the official release of that person's name.

[Mike]

I was up there a week ago, and Lady Wilson's Cleavage was full of *fresh* avalanche debris - most of the climb was buried. We went up and climbed Wilson Major, got a pretty good view of the basin above LWC and it was pretty clear. Mt. Wilson is chock full of routes and almost everything is in, so there are a lot of possiblities. Hopefully we'll get a more definitive answer

[iain]

advisory was set at considerable

 

http://www.avalanche.ca/Parks/banff.htm

[HerbertWest]

Terrain trap. Tough love. Sucks. Part of the game. Died doing something they loved to do, hopefully. MCTFAF.

[Figger_Eight]

sigh...

[glassgowkiss]

after almost getting a chop on fine line direct i don't go under any snow slopes if it is sunny and warm. and "considerable" means, that avalanche is something to consider. and back then the avi danger was moderate.

[JoshK]

The last thing we need is to start the speculation and second guessing game, but I've been in lady wilson's cleavage and I dont think I'd have the balls to do it in anything more than "low" avalanche conditions. I remember it being the terrain trap to end all terrain traps. It was threatened from nearly every direction. Thankfully we did it early in the year and there was no snowpack.

 

Even when it's people I dont know, it hits pretty hard when they are people who are from towns right next to you, doing the same things you like to do.

[sobo]

The last thing we need is to start the speculation and second guessing game, but I've been in lady wilson's cleavage and I dont think I'd have the balls to do it in anything more than "low" avalanche conditions. I remember it being the terrain trap to end all terrain traps. It was threatened from nearly every direction...

 

Has it been determined yet that they were actually in LWC drainage? Most I've read is "west side of Mt. Wilson", which covers a pretty broad range of routes.

 

I've climbed in LWC and Major Wilson as well. Terrain traps they are, oh yes. I didn't even know what the avy rating was, but I'm sure I'd experience shrinkage if I were to learn now. It was definitely more than "low", that's fer sure.