UPDATE: Skier dies in fall on North Vancouver mountain
A skier has died after falling from Mount Seymour’s First Pump Peak on Saturday.
Cpl. Peter DeVries, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP, told The Outlook that a 36-year-old back country skier suffered “severe head and chest trauma” after falling 200 to 300 metres. DeVries said the skier is a male from the Lower Mainland, but could not confirm an identity. Investigators are still trying to determine a residence for the victim.
Police, he said, were notified of the fall around 1 p.m.
DeVries said North Shore Rescue officials are still attempting to get the body to the base of the mountain, but are experiencing difficulty doing so because of low cloud cover. Rescue workers were able to use a helicopter to get to the scene but are forced to walk the body down because of visibility concerns.
DeVries added officers are still on the scene along with a coroner.
This is the second incident on North Shore mountains in the past week. A 50-year-old female snowshoer fell nearly 30 metres from the peak of Hollyburn Mountain on Jan. 30, stopping only because she hit a tree. The impact left her with serious head and chest injuries but likely saved her life.
Tim Jones, search manager of North Shore Rescue, said that incident highlighted dangers prevalent this time of year.
Fluctuating temperatures have created patches of black ice on some slopes that are nearly impossible to grip onto.
Heavy rains, added Jones, have also created sinkhole in gully areas of the North Shore mountains.
"These sinkholes are very dangerous," Jones said. "A person could fall through one and basically disappear."
Jones said anyone near such slopes should have solid mountaineering boots, crampons, an ice axe and a fair amount of snowshoeing experience.
"This is something we've been warning people a lot about lately," he said.
skolenko@northshoreoutlook.com
twitter.com/seankolenko
-with files from Greg Hoekstra
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