Skier Revived After Big Canadian Rockies Avalanche

Cam McLellan was quick to inform friends and family on social media that he is O.K. after he was swept down a popular couloir in the Canadian Rockies in an avalanche.

McLellan’s Instagram post read, “Guess there’s a first time for everything… attempted the Mt. Patterson Couloir today with @buzzbangle [Noah Bangle] and Jeremy Laporte today and it definitely did not go well.

“We were throttled by a rather large avalanche and it knocked us all down hard. I owe a huge thanks to these two fine gents I was ski touring with today as if it wasn’t for them I’d be in rough and potentially worse shape.

Guess there’s a first time for everything… attempted the Mt. Patterson Couloir today with @buzzbangle and Jeremy Laporte today and it definitely did not go well. We were throttled by a rather large avalanche and it knocked us all down hard. I owe a huge thanks to these two fine gents I was ski touring with today as if it wasn’t for them I’d be in rough and potentially worse shape. I was found unconscious and not breathing and was dealt with quickly and revived. From there, my two friends immediately got a rescue started and got me to safety. I ended up in the Banff Hospital with 11 stitches in my head, a broken rib and hematoma behind my ear. I am beyond lucky that I got away with those injuries. Big thanks boys and an big thanks goes out to the Parks Canada team for getting me outta there. Can’t wait to heal up and get back out there! #survived #greateful

A post shared by Cam McLellan (@camskiguide) on Oct 29, 2018 at 4:50pm PDT

“I was found unconscious and not breathing and was dealt with quickly and revived. From there, my two friends immediately got a rescue started and got me to safety.

“I ended up in the Banff Hospital with 11 stitches in my head, a broken rib and hematoma behind my ear. I am beyond lucky that I got away with those injuries.

“Big thanks boys and an big thanks goes out to the Parks Canada team for getting me outta there. Can’t wait to heal up and get back out there!”

The Patterson Coulir is a popular ski run that leads into the East Ridge of Mount Patterson above the Snowbird Glacier and can be seen from the Icefields Parkway.

Parks Canada’s update on avalanche.ca about the incident says, “Parks Canada responded to an InReach activation for three skiiers who were hit by a natural avalanche in a couloir on the east ridge of Mt. Patterson. There were no burials, but all three went for a ~100m tumble sustaining various injuries, the worst being a head injury and broken ribs. Gear was lost and all three were evacuated to a waiting ambulance. The avalanche appeared to be a loose dry avalanche that gained mass and was concentrated in the steep gullied terrain.”

Avalanche.ca is not yet updating daily avalanche bulletins, but there is a quote from Grant Statham saying, “Winter is here, even though its only October. The alpine snowpack is deep and avalanche hazard exists. Expect fresh slab avalanches following storms and avoid steep, sun exposed slopes. Carry all of your avalanche gear and travel like its December.”

Check avalanche.ca for updates, be sure to change the batteries in your beacons, update your avalanche gear and practice your rescues.

This is the second avalanche in the Rockies already this year to catch people off guard. Earlier this season, two climbers were caught in a massive avalanche on Mount Athabasca, see here for more.