Revelstoke RCMP were contacted by the International Response Centre on Saturday and advised of an emergency-beacon activation at Eagle Pass. “Indications were that one sledder in a group of four was pinned under his snow machine and was possibly suffering from back and chest injuries,” Staff Sgt. Jacquie Olsen said in a statement on Monday.
“Revelstoke Search and Rescue were contacted and were able to land a helicopter near the scene and medical evacuate the sledder to Queen Victoria Hospital. The 45-year-old Cherryville resident suffered from bruising and was later released from the hospital.”
Olsen said he told police that he had “climbed a steep bank, flipped the sled back onto himself and was pinned until his friends were able to dig him out.”
Then, on Sunday afternoon, police were contacted and advised of a spot-beacon activation in the Downie Loop area. While police and Search and Rescue were enroute the beacon was cancelled. Follow up investigation showed that a group from Alberta were snowmobiling in the Keystone area when a 20-year-old man from Edmonton had dislocated his shoulder. The group was having difficulty in getting him off of the mountain so activated the beacon. They were eventually successful in removing him from the mountain and he was taken to Queen Victoria Hospital.
“When using the back country being prepared is essential,” Olsen said. “Well-maintained equipment, proper avalanche training and equipment, as well as adequate communications with emergency services should always be considered before heading out to enjoy the mountains.”
