Extreme snowmobilers undeterred by deadly B.C. avalanche
REVELSTOKE, B.C. — It was nothing short of a miracle that dozens of snowmobilers escaped what could have been a cold mass grave when they were knocked flat by a tumbling torrent of snow in southwestern B.C.
Yet the aftermath of twisted machinery, broken bones, stitches and two dead doesn’t mean “sled-heads” are rethinking jamming the pedal to the metal when the next powder snowfall arrives.
“Somebody gets stabbed by a bull in a bull ring bullfighting, I mean, is somebody going to go ’Oh my goodness, bullfighting should end? No. That’s what happens — you’re taking the chance,” said Darrin Dove, 28, of Biggar, Sask., on Monday, after a weekend out riding the backcountry on Boulder Mountain, near the site of the slide.
“You’re climbing up a mountain on a snowmobile that has 40 feet of snow on it, you’ve got to know avalanches can happen. I mean, if you don’t want to put yourself into that situation, don’t do the sport, plain and simple.”
Chasing the thrill that comes with tearing up a wild hill with all the horsepower a sled can offer has plenty of risks and many enthusiasts say it is a personal choice to accept.
“I’m not going to quit riding because of it, or slow down,” said Greg Mundt, 34, who saw the massive white cloud plummet down the bowl on Saturday from afar.
An avalanche warning had been in effect for the area when three daredevil sledders apparently began competing to see who could race highest up the mountain. The game, called high-marking, was part of an unsanctioned event called the Big Iron Shoot-Out.
Suddenly, the snow was knocked loose, gathering speed into a huge slide that barrelled onto the 200-strong crowd watching below.
Alberta men Kurtis Reynolds and Shay Snortland, both 33 years old, were killed.
Reynolds’s wife of 11 years, Shannon, said he was attending a once-a-year guy’s weekend away and had only gone sledding once before, at the same event. She called him a spectator who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“His passion other than his family was camping with our sons and taking the (ATV) out to Dutch Creek or wherever there was mud. He loved the mud,” she said in a statement.
“We have lost someone who was loyal, compassionate, loved life and (was) very devoted to his family and friends.”
A close friend of the two who was also there, Mike Harker, said Snortland was stuck at the top of the hill. He said no one is to blame for what he calls a natural disaster.
It was initially believed scores more, including children, might be smothered under the 10-metre deep blanket. Those who could joined in an urgent recovery mission, followed by search-and-rescue teams with dogs.
Survivors are crediting that quick work — along with the slew of safety gear and technology that was on their backs — for averting catastrophe.
But it’s also those assurances that may push daredevils to up the ante.
“They’re going to keep doing it,” said Brandyn Mears, who works at Powder Petes snowmobile rental shop in Revelstoke.
“There’s always going to be all the guys who throw on all the gear and have a lot of money, they’re riding to basically show off their sleds.”
Among the gear available is GPS beacons and tracking devices that when pushed instantly send messages to rescue centres and family via text saying the person is in trouble. People also carry probes and portable shovels that help with locating and digging people out.
And when a ripcord is pulled on an avalanche pack, giant wings inflate to help float the wearer to the top of the snow.
While such innovations are key to survival, the fact that snowmobiles themselves have gotten a huge boost in power and performance in recent years contributes to the belief sledders can pull off increasingly crazy stunts.
“Somebody in Alberta or B.C. that’s never really ridden the trails, they can fork over money, pull it out of the box ... (and) someone with fairly little experience is able to get much higher up,” said Karl Klassen at the Canadian Avalanche Centre, based in Revelstoke.
Problem is, he said, the snowmobiling community sometimes meets education about the risks with resistance.
“Skiers have been on slopes for hundreds of years, so as a collective they’re far more educated, whereas a culture of awareness doesn’t yet exist for snowmobilers,” he said.
“We have to get them to accept that we have something to teach them.”
Still, Klassen said he’s encouraged to see registration increasing for avalanche education courses, although he noted the numbers are better for Alberta than B.C.
One man who was knocked unconscious when the slide tumbled upon him as he ate lunch said he said he’d hold his son close because he’s so thankful they’re both OK.
But that doesn’t mean he’s done with the sport.
“I have no regrets at all, it’s just one of them things when you’re extreme riders,” said George Hall, from Montana. “It happens to all of us.”
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