B.C. resident dies after falling into glacier crevasse in Jasper National Park
File photo of Athabasca Glacier, part of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National. (Credit: Park/Getty Images/Yiming Chen/1604818084-170667a)
A 38-year-old man is dead after falling into a crevasse at the Columbia Icefield on May 12.
RCMP did not send a release at the time of the incident, but later told CBC that three friends were skiing and snowboarding recreationally when one fell 25 metres into a crevasse on the Athabasca Glacier, which is located in Jasper National Park.
Mathew Howell, a public information officer for the RCMP, said that in situations “of this magnitude,” police attend the scene with safety crews.
He said RCMP were notified around 5:30 p.m. by Parks Canada, and about 90 minutes later police met safety crews at the scene.
Howell said the Jasper National Park visitor safety team told RCMP members “they had visual confirmation on the patient and they could confidently say that he was deceased.”
Due to weather and the remote location of the deceased, RCMP said recovery of the man’s body was not immediately possible.
A photo of several hikers in full snow gear and snow shoes. There are mountains seen in the background. A file photo of the Athabasca Glacier in 2022. The glacier is one of several that make up the Columbia Icefield in the Canadian Rockies. (Caitlin Hanson/CBC)
Howell said RCMP records state the man’s body was retrieved two days later on May 14. He said the man who died was a citizen of the Czech Republic, and was living in Revelstoke, B.C., at the time of the incident.
His two friends were also living in Revelstoke. RCMP spoke to them at the scene, but Howell said he was unsure if there had been any follow-up interviews.
The incident is being treated as a sudden death, with no foul play expected, said Howell.
Parks Canada is leading the primary investigation into the incident, with the Jasper RCMP providing assistance.
A hazardous area
The Columbia Icefield is a popular but highly hazardous landscape.
According to the Parks Canada website, the Columbia Icefield is rated on the Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale as Class 3.
On a glacial landscape, Class 3 terrain indicates overlapping avalanche paths, large expanses of steep terrain, and “complicated glacier travel with extensive crevasse bands or icefalls.”
Parks Canada warns on its website that a “considerable level of skill and knowledge” is necessary for that type of terrain, and everyone in the group should be equipped with and familiar with safe glacier travel, crevasse rescue techniques and whiteout navigation skills.
It is not known what specific gear or skill level the group had at the time of the accident.
Jasper National Park officials did not provide comment by the time of publication.
This article, written by Maggie Kirk, was originally published for CBC News.