Close X
Sunday, December 15, 2024
ADVT 
National

Ottawa Man And Friend Escape Two Yukon Avalanches While Backcountry Skiing

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Apr, 2016 12:46 PM
    WHITEHORSE — Paul Goulet only had a split second to turn around and brace for the impact of an avalanche before a first wall of snow hit him.
     
    "We didn't see it coming," the Ottawa man said in an interview Thursday.
     
    "Everybody always talks about how loud it is. It was completely silent."
     
    Goulet, 44, said he and six friends were backcountry skiing Wednesday at Log Cabin Mountain, 180 kilometres south of Whitehorse near the B.C.-Alaska boundary, when two avalanches struck.
     
    Two skiers from his group had already reached the summit. Goulet and his friend, Gaetan Martel, were about 150 metres behind when he said he heard Martel screaming. Then they were caught up in an avalanche.
     
    Goulet said he was half-buried in the snow but managed to keep his head up when a second slide hit, pushing both men down the slope and over a small ridge.
     
    The two men dug themselves out with the help of a third man.
     
    Goulet broke his right leg after his ski became twisted, but instead of calling a helicopter for a lift, he slid down the mountain on his stomach. He was then transported to hospital.
     
    Goulet is an experienced backcountry skier and said he didn't panic when the avalanches struck.
     
    "At no time I was thinking, 'This is it,'" said the father of three young children.
     
    "I told myself, 'I need to keep riding this thing down and stay at the top.'"
     
    Goulet said he wasn't sure they would have survived had the second and more powerful avalanche come down first. 
     
     
    "(The first avalanche) gave me almost just time to get a feel of what to do in it," Goulet said.
     
    "I kept pulling myself up to the top. You can see the light when you're in the snow."
     
    The avalanche was half a metre deep, 450 metres long and about 200 metres wide.
     
    Avalanche Canada is reminding backcountry skiers to be cautious as the weather warms in B.C. and Yukon.
     
    James Floyer, an Avalanche Canada forecaster, said every backcountry skier should have the appropriate training and an avalanche kit, which includes a shovel, a transceiver-receiver beacon and a pole to locate people buried under snow.
     
    For backcountry skiers, Goulet stresses the importance of always being prepared.
     
    "Even in places where it's not supposed to happen, it can happen."
     
    He said all members in his group were experienced skiers in their 40s and 50s, and they didn't attempt any major descents.
     
    On Wednesday night, after the two men were released from hospital, the group headed to a bar next to their hotel for karaoke night.
     
    Goulet said he doesn't usually sing at karaoke nights, but this time was special.
     
    "We went for a little celebration of life," he said, chuckling.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Education Minister Insists Teacher Deals Are 'Net Zero' Despite Extra $300Million Cost

    Ontario's Liberal government insisted Wednesday that despite a $300-million price tag to set up new benefit trusts for teachers, their recent contracts are "net zero."

    Education Minister Insists Teacher Deals Are 'Net Zero' Despite Extra $300Million Cost

    Justin Trudeau Extols Virtues Of Bombardier Cseries As Government Ponders Aid

    Justin Trudeau Extols Virtues Of Bombardier Cseries As Government Ponders Aid
    Trudeau was in Toronto, where he called the CSeries passenger jet "an exceptional airplane" that shows off Canada's innovation and manufacturing skills to the world.

    Justin Trudeau Extols Virtues Of Bombardier Cseries As Government Ponders Aid

    Oil Patch Woes Give Federal Liberals Cold Feet On Cutting Fossil Fuel Subsidies

    Oil Patch Woes Give Federal Liberals Cold Feet On Cutting Fossil Fuel Subsidies
    Now is not the time to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr said Wednesday, despite what a Liberal cabinet colleague is billing as the greenest federal budget ever.

    Oil Patch Woes Give Federal Liberals Cold Feet On Cutting Fossil Fuel Subsidies

    Missing Person File Still Open 25 Years After Four-Year-Old Boy's Disappearance

    Missing Person File Still Open 25 Years After Four-Year-Old Boy's Disappearance
    When Crystal Dunahee turned around moments later after taking Michael's little sister out of her stroller, he was gone.

    Missing Person File Still Open 25 Years After Four-Year-Old Boy's Disappearance

    Study Finds Whistler Luge Track Not Significantly More Dangerous Than Other Venues

    A new study says the luge track used at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where an athlete died on the opening day of the Games, was not significantly "more dangerous" than other venues.

    Study Finds Whistler Luge Track Not Significantly More Dangerous Than Other Venues

    'Soy' Gulls Found In Tofu Vat Are Back To Seagulls After Cleaning And Release

    'Soy' Gulls Found In Tofu Vat Are Back To Seagulls After Cleaning And Release
    Dozens of seagulls rescued from a vat of soybean waste in a Vancouver alley almost two weeks ago have been released back to the wild after a thorough cleaning.

    'Soy' Gulls Found In Tofu Vat Are Back To Seagulls After Cleaning And Release