Avalanche kills 3 heli-skiers in southeast B.C.
Posted Mar 25, 2025 10:35 am.
Last Updated Mar 25, 2025 6:06 pm.
Three heli-skiers were killed on Monday after being swept away in an avalanche near Kaslo in B.C.’s West Kootenay region.
The Kalso RCMP says that just before 1 p.m., two groups of skiers had finished skiing a bowl and were waiting near the treeline of Clute Creek watershed, on the east side of Kootenay Lake.
According to police, a “transport helicopter was nearing the group when the pilot observed an avalanche and sounded the siren.”
“One group of skiers was able to run out of harms way, while the other group of four was swept away into the tree line,” Mounties said in a statement on Tuesday.
While recovery efforts were initiated, three men were found dead — a 44-year-old man from Whistler, a 45-year-old man from Idaho, U.S., and the 53-year-old guide from Kaslo.
A fourth man, 40, from Nelson was critically injured, police add.
The BC Coroners Service has been called in to help with the investigation, the Kaslo RCMP says.
Avalanche Canada issued a public warning for the central Rockies last week saying there have been several large avalanches in recent days.
Earlier this month, two skiers died in Alberta after two separate avalanches minutes apart near Lake Louise and in Kananaskis.
