Avalanche
Over the weekend there were 5 avalanche deaths in North America. We’ve reported on the two deaths in Colorado, the one death in Idaho, and the the death in British Columbia.
We just learned of another avalanche fatality on Mt. Rowe in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada that occurred on Saturday, February 15th, 2014.
The avalanche victim was snowboarding with a friend near Mt. Rowe when he triggered and was buried by an avalanche at 3:30pm on Sunday. His friend was able to partially dig the buried man out of the snow and administer CPR, but the buried man died at the scene.
Here is the official Canadian Avalanche Center‘s report:
February 17, 2014, Revelstoke, BC: It is with great sadness that we learned today that Wade Galloway was killed in an avalanche in Waterton Lakes National Park on Saturday, Feb 15. Wade was a strong supporter of public avalanche safety, raising money for the Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC) through an annual fundraiser called the Canuck SplitFest.
“Wade first approached the CAC in 2010, telling us that he was organizing an event and wanted permission to donate the proceeds to our organization,” said CAC Executive Director Gilles Valade.
“Through his efforts and energy, the Canuck SplitFest has grown every year. This is a great loss and his enthusiasm and dedication will be missed.”
The focus of the Canuck SplitFest is to celebrate backcountry snowboarding. Held in Rogers Pass, the event features presentations by avalanche experts, donations from snowboarding and apparel manufacturers, and a strong message of friendship and safety.
In May of 2013, the CAC awarded Wade with a Service Award for outstanding fundraising efforts and celebrating avalanche awareness in the splitboarding community.
“Wade was a tremendously generous individual, willing to give his time and energy to a cause that he believed in,” said Gordon Ritchie, President of the Canadian Avalanche Foundation, the charitable fundraising arm of the CAC. “We are very grateful to have had the chance to know him and our thoughts are with his family.”
