Condolences pour in for those killed in McBride avalanche

All five men killed in a majoravalanche while snowmobilingeast ofMcBride, B.C. onFriday were from Alberta.

The B.C. coroner's office confirmed Saturday afternoon that one victim wasfromVegreville, one was from Grande Prairie, and three were from the greater Edmonton area.The men have been confirmed as:

• Vincent Eugene Loewen, 52, of Vegreville,
• Tony Greenwood,41, of Grande Prairie County,
• Ricky Robinson, 55, of Spruce Grove,
• ToddChisholm, aged 47, of St. Albert
• John Garley49, of Stony Plain.

The five were snowmobilingwith 17 other men from four groups in theRenshawarea east ofMcbride, B.C. yesterday. Thelarge, human-triggered avalanche occurred happened at around 1:30 p.m.

All five men died at the scene.

The B.C. Coroners Service andRCMPcontinue to investigate thedeaths.

Avalanche kills 5 in B.C.

9 years ago

Duration 0:56

An avalanche killed 5 snowmobilers near McBride, B.C.

Devastated families

Dale Monaghan, a long time friend of John Garley, said the family is devastated by the loss of "a great man respected by many."

"John was an absolute terrific man, his nickname was "Big John" he was about 6'3 260 pounds," Monaghantold CBC."He was just the biggest, most fun-loving individual you could imagine.

"A very caring father, a wonderful family man. He lived life to the fullest."

"He worked hard, played hard, and loved hard."

Monaghan went on to say that Garley wasvery experienced atsnowmobiling and had first aid, andavalanche training.

A statement on behalf of Chisholm's family said he had a passionfor sledding in the mountains.

"He died too young doing what he enjoyed with his sleddingbuddies. Thanks to the four friends who were with Todd for theirefforts," it said.

"Todd will be sadly missed by his wife of 18 years, children,mother and father, brothers and sister, extended family, friends andcommunity."

Chisholm enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping and playing games withhis children and wife, as well as music, the statement said.

Country music singer George Canyon posted a tribute to fellow musicianChisholmon Saturday night that said Chisholm"was a dear friend and like a brother all those years ago."

Several politicians also responded to the tragedy, offering condolenceson social media aboutthe five killed by the avalanche.

Avery calm scene

RCMP say they were notified of two separate GPS beacon activations in the Renshaw area east of McBride around 1:30 p.m. PT, at which point they called inSearch and Rescue.

There wereat leastfour groups of snowmobilers caught in the slide,saidRCMP.Rod Whelpton, the manager ofRobson Valley Search and Rescue described the scene as "calm" during a press conference in Mcbride on Saturday.

Whelpton was out snowmobiling when his group,which includedone otherSAR volunteer,came across the site shortly after the avalanche.

Upon arrival, he said almost everyone affected had already dug themselves out of the snow.

In all his years of experience he told media hehadn't seen an avalanche of this magnitude before and that the group hit was comprised of "very prepared people."

"There were quite a few people around, and everyone was doing a very good job of digging out their own groups," said Whelpton, "it was fast, simple.

"Everyone did the right thing."

Human-triggeredavalanche

Avalanche Canada said it had received a report of what appears to be a "very large, significant avalanche event" in the North Rockies.

"There are layers of concern in the snowpack in many parts of this region (and others) and a fairly significant weather event added rain and snow to the snowpack over the last few days," said Karl Klassen with Avalanche Canada.

"This may have produced stresses in the snowpack capable of producing large avalanches and this condition could take several days to settle and bond."

Klassen said the avalanche was human-triggered.