Heads up to folks still travelling in the high mountains this spring:

A team of Parks Canada visitor safety specialists responded to an incident involving a skier who was struck by a cornice as they were descending the West Glacier of the Mons Icefield on May 4th, 2016. The skiier was part of a group of seven that were on the southern half of the Great Divide Ski Traverse in the northwest portion of Banff National Park.

The skier had finished rappelling down the final rock band on the established rappel route when he was struck by debris from a cornice that released overhead. He travelled approximately 40 meters in the debris, landing on the surface and sustaining a back injury. The skiers were descending the rock band one at a time and no other individuals were hit by debris. The group had knowledge and experience travelling in avalanche terrain and had done thorough route planning before commencing their trip. They were on the rappels around 10 am on an overcast day, but there had been no freeze the night before.

Although it is spring in the Valleys, there is still snow up high with all of the associated hazards of avalanches and cornice failures and thinning crevasse bridges.

Have a safe spring!

Parks Canada Visitor Safety
Banff, Yoho & Kootenay National Parks
www.facebook.com/ParksMountainSafety