Skier, 18, injured in avalanche on Vancouver Island
Posted January 8, 2013 4:19 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
COURTENAY (NEWS1130) – An 18-year-old skier is hurt after getting caught in an avalanche with a group of friends in Strathcona Provincial Park on Central Vancouver Island.
RCMP Cpl. Darren Lagan says the teen has an injured leg but the others are okay.
“Weather conditions are quite challenging and difficult in the Strathcona Park and Comox Valley area. We have heavy snow coming down. The group chose to hunker down, contact 911 for help. With the diminishing light, it was the right choice for them to make,” explains Lagan.
Emergency responders are optimistic they’ll be brought to safety by tonight.
But Paul Berry with the Comox Valley Search and Rescue says it will be a lengthy mission due to poor weather conditions.
“With the snowfall today, it’s going to be a significant operation, many number of hours this evening,” adds Berry.
The slide was outside of the Mount Washington Ski Resort.
“The system that we’re seeing right now has brought heavy snow throughout the day. And that’s on top of some generally pretty dry conditions over the last two weeks and that creates pretty hazardous avalanche conditions,” says Brent Curtain with Mount Washington ski resort.
He says the area is expected to get more heavy snow in the next few hours,
