Avalanche deaths feared to hit record high in 2002

February 12, 2002
Source: Calgary Sun
Original story - link not found on February 12, 2002
By Mike D'amour

Experts fear 2002 could be a record year for avalanche-related deaths after four people perished in them last weekend. "Eleven people died in mountain avalanches (in B.C. and Alberta) last year -- we're already at nine so far this year," Clair Israelson of the Canadian Avalanche Centre said. The first of the four fatalities happened Saturday when a group of friends was snowmobiling near Horsefly, B.C., about 900 km northeast of Calgary. On Sunday, a second man -- from Jasper -- died testing snow so he and his friends could be safe. Two other men were killed Sunday in an avalanche near Revelstoke, B.C. Two people survived that slide.

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