German tourists killed in B.C. avalanche, identities revealed

What was supposed to be a fun family vacation turned deadly this week in B.C.’s Interior when a powerful avalanche wiped out a group of tourists.

Late Wednesday morning, calls for help rang out after the slide came down, striking a group of 10 people, including a local heli-skiing guide. Three people were killed, and four others were injured, some left in serious condition.

A newspaper based in Germany’s Bavaria region has now identified the dead as 57-year-old Thomas Kräh, his son-in-law, and a family friend. The man’s 25-year-old son survived the slide and the four were there to celebrate him having just graduated from university with his degree. They had apparently travelled to B.C. from the community of Eging.

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RK Heliski, the company that took the group out in the area of Panorama Mountain Resort, says it’s “heartbroken” by the tragic incident.

“It is impossible to put into words the sorrow that we feel and the sadness that is shared by our guests, their families, and all of our staff,” it said in a statement Thursday. “We would like to thank the professional Ski Patrollers from Panorama Mountain Resort, CMH Bugaboos for their dedicated team of professional ACMG guides and supporting aircrafts from Coldstream Helicopters, Silver King Helicopters, Glacier Helicopters and CMH Helicopters.”

Avalanche Canada says its crews are seeing a problematic and dangerous snowpack across much of the Interior and Alberta Rockies right now.

“It’s all about a basal snowpack weakness, so weak snow lying at the base of the snowpack. This kind of thing can happen when we get really thin, early-season snow coverage followed by a prolonged cold snap, and that really cold weather tends to weaken the snow that’s on the surface,”  Colin Garritty, forecaster and field technician with the agency, explained.

“When that gets buried and it gets buried deeper and deeper, we end up with a critical load that develops above that basal snowpack, and each storm… brings a test to this weakness, and certainly people or machines travelling on the snowpack do the same thing.”

He adds the group has had reports of very large slides and sometimes it takes them by surprise.

“Professionals in multiple regions have been expressing serious concern about the condition of the snowpack in many parts of British Columbia and the Rockies,” he said.

Garritty says if you insist on heading out to the mountains, then you need to be prepared.

“Get the gear. Get the training. Get the forecast, but do not try to outwit this problem. It’s important to stay in tune with the messaging Avalanche Canada is putting out there, in terms of how this problem is evolving, or actually in this case, failing to evolve.”

He suggests seeking out low-angle terrain with thick snowpack areas which look uniform.

“And places away from big overhead avalanche terrain. Terrain selection — this is where you place yourself in the terrain in relation to avalanche slopes — this is what keeps folks safe much more than trying to thread the needle through subtle changes in conditions or perceived changes in the conditions,” said Garritty.

The four other skiers who were injured in Wednesday’s slide are all expected to survive.

To date this season, 12 people have been killed in avalanche-related incidents in B.C.

-With files from Martin MacMahon and Mike Lloyd