Tuesday, January 21

Craig Kelly Dies In Avalanche

Press Release

REVELSTOKE, B.C. -- Seven backcountry skiers, including three from the United States, were killed yesterday when an avalanche crashed down a mountainside in eastern British Columbia, officials said.

One of the seven victims killed by an avalanche near Revelstoke, British Columbia, was identified Tuesday as professional snowboarder Craig Kelly of Mount Vernon, Wash., according to his sponsor, the Burton Snowboards Co.

Burton spokeswoman Leigh Ault said Kelly, 36, lived in Mount Vernon, Wash., and Nelson, British Columbia.

The company credits Kelly with helping to pioneer snowboard riding in the late 80's. He was a four-time world champion and three-time U.S. Open champion during his 15 years as a professional rider. He also helped Burlington, Vt.-based Burton develop snowboards and other products.

Authorities previously said eight people were killed, and all were Americans, but later changed the information. The names of the other victims were not released.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Randy Brown said one of the victims was from Colorado and another was from California. The others killed in the avalanche were from Canada.

The Vancouver Province reported that the skiers knew the risk -- a bulletin had warned of considerable slide danger -- but still ventured up, well beyond the tree line.

Brown said the dead were in a group of 10 or 11 people skiing together. He said one person in that group taken to hospital in Revelstoke.

"He was covered up in the avalanche but didn't sustain any real serious injuries," Brown said.

There were conflicting reports of how many people were caught in the snowslide near the Durrand Glacier, about 20 miles northeast of the town of Revelstoke in the Selkirk Range.

Regional coroner Ian McKichan said two were rescued. But Bob Pearce, a spokesman for the British Columbia Ambulance Service said there were 12 people rescued. The victims' names and hometowns were not immediately released.

The party of skiers from the United States had traveled by helicopter to a remote camp in the Rocky Mountains, using that as a base for ski touring, Pearce said.

Ingrid Boaz at Selkirk Mountain Experience said the party caught in the avalanche had been flown to the company's chalet on the glacier. She said she did not know where the group was from. The chalet is located at the tree line, 6,336 feet above sea level in the heart of the mountains in eastern British Columbia near the border with Alberta.

Survivors were transported to a Revelstoke hospital. Pearce said that at least one was in stable condition.

"There are five ambulance crews at the heliport in Revelstoke where a makeshift morgue has been set up," Pearce said.

"Our little town is numb. These are things that are very tragic. We are a very small town," said Clair Israelson, director of the Canadian Avalanche Association. The U.S. group apparently had dinner at Woolsey Creek Cafe in Revelstoke, about 30 kilometers southwest of the Durrand Glacier, on Friday before taking a charter helicopter to the mountain.

Lane Seabrook, the cafe owner, said the skiers were believed to be mostly physicians in their mid-40s. "They were super nice people. It's still very shocking," Seabrook said last night. The news of the deaths has ricocheted through North America's skiing circles.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien issued a statement on the "tragic loss of life."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families during this very painful time," he said. "We wish a speedy and complete recovery for the injured."

The Selkirk firm's Web site says the Revelstoke-based company, founded in 1985, caters to adventurers who enjoy the mountains. It describes the area around Durrand Glacier as "very remote and wild."

Backcountry skiers "wear special ski gear, climb up hills, lock into their skis and ski down," said Clair Israelson, director of the Canadian Avalanche Association in Revelstoke.

Israelson said 50 people have been killed in British Columbia snowslides in the past five years, including 10 this year.

McKichan said avalanche conditions in the area were rated as hazardous Monday. A weather pattern of temperatures going from above freezing to well below freezing created layers of ice and snow that increased the chances of avalanche, local residents said.

In a weekly bulletin, the Canadian Avalanche Association warned people entering the backcountry to "be alert for remote triggering and continue to be vigilant about avoiding those tempting alpine faces."

Three local skiers were killed around this time last year by an avalanche in the Canadian Rockies.

Susan Majeski McKnight, 53, of Lake Forest Park; Georgia Lynne Bakke, 42; and her husband, Lawrence Gordon Duff, 54, of Edmonds were trapped Jan. 30 when one of their backcountry skiing companions triggered a slide on his descent.

The skiers, who were Seattle Mountaineers with a wealth of experience, were skiing and staying on Mount Carlyle in the Selkirks, south of where yesterday's avalanche was.

P-I reporter Candace Heckman contributed to and information from the Vancouver Province was included in this report.