Avalanche Incident
Avalanche Incident
Suzanne Wilton - Calgary Herald
Jasper - A 29-year-old climber from Canmore is dead after being swept 300 metres down a mountain by a small avalanche in Jasper National Park.
The man was swept away as he and another climber were descending the Mount Edith Cavell -- about 10 km south of Jasper -- on Sunday afternoon, park public safety warden Dave Smith said Monday.
Smith said the pair had unroped about 3 p.m after reaching the col -- the point where the trail ends and the climb begins -- and were in their final descent when tragedy struck.
"They were glissading (a controlled slide) down the slope on a patch of snow when the snow gave way," Smith said.
"One of the (climbers) was able to get out but the other was carried by the snow."
Jasper RCMP have not released the names of either man.
The surviving climber, who was not hurt, made his way down the ridge to assist his partner but was unable to revive him. "He was not able to get air into his lungs so he decided to leave the man where he lay and get help," Smith said.
Park wardens used a helicopter sling rescue to retrieve the man's body. Wardens said the victim was an experienced climber.
Smith said the east ridge of Mount Cavell is one of Jasper's more popular climbing routes and has claimed lives. The climb requires "technical" skills, but is not considered a hard route, he said.
"It was more a function of conditions," Smith said of recent wet weather. "The area where they were had received some snow and undoubtedly some rain too which creates some really sloppy snow conditions."
Public safety officials are bracing for more mountain deaths as Jasper's busy climbing season -- from about mid-June to the end of September -- kicks into high gear.
This is the first fatality of the summer. Last season, at least three people died in mountain or swift water activities.
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