Links Corner Forum

There was an avalanche near Banff today...at least one person is dead. There was no warning and that part of Banff National Park is very popular with hikers.

Strange time of year for an avalanche. I was at the Banff National Cadet Camp in 1969, and was at the top of Mount Norquay in August. There was snow, but nothing avalanche-like. That camp operated from 1948 to 1998, and then the cabins were completely removed, leaving a bare field, and a new operation was set up near Calgary, no more mountain-climbing, and replaced with whitewater boating. It was an intense experience for a 16 yo, just eight months after my mother died, and I'll never forget it.

I get sick in the stomach just seeing you on that edge!

Teenagers do crazy things Norquay isn't a hard climb, but there are plenty of places you can lose your footing or balance, and it's a long way down; I'd probably just become used to that level of risk. That was actually a rockslide in Banff, not an avalanche, and two people were killed. I recall during that climb we were following a steep trail up the side, and there was a deer's head just lying next to the trail, likely ripped off by a bear or cougar. It made everyone more alert!

They recovered a second body...3 others are in a Calgary hospital in various degrees of injury.