Calgary avalanche victim no risk-taker: brother
Posted Mar 21, 2010 9:17 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The 31-year-old Calgarian killed in Friday’s avalanche at Eagle Pass, near Revelstoke, was an experienced snowmobiler who had taken avalanche training.
That’s according to Kelly Reitenbach’s brother. Police believe Reitenbach triggered the avalanche, along with another snowmobiler, while high-marking the mountain.
It was the final run of the day for Reitenbach, as members of his group, a family reunion gathering, were about to leave the area.
Bob Reitenbach says his brother took up snowmobiling three or four years ago and bought his first machine a year ago. But he adds the group weren’t punks or adrenaline junkies. He also says another snowmobiler, that he claims went higher than Kelly, was the one who triggered the slide.
Two days before the fatal incident, Kelly and his group conducted a search and find drill.
Bob says his brother was outfitted with a beacon, but when his body was found after a 45-minute rescue mission, the force of the snow slide had swept the beacon away.
Kelly Reitenbach was single and worked as an automation consultant in the oil and gas industry, spending a great deal of time in Alaska. The Calgarian was also a linesman in the Western Hockey League.
