Missing Climber’s Body Recovered
The body of a missing Royal Canadian Air Force Search and Rescue Technician who went missing on Feb. 5, was recovered today by Parks Canada.
On Wed. Feb. 11, between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., Parks Canada Visitor Safety specialists recovered Mark Salesse’s body from under nearly three metres of snow.
The snow had accumulated from snowfall and avalanches after Salesse was swept over a 60-metre pitch of ice in a small avalanche. The avalanche was triggered by another climber who was part of a four-person team, including Salesse, that were climbing the ice climb Polar Circus.
It is common for climbers to un-rope for the easy terrain between the lower and upper ice pitches.
Friday: Ice Climber Goes Missing
Sunday: Weather Slows Search for Climber
Salesse died on Feb. 5, 2015, which was the 33rd anniversary of John Lauchlan’s death. Lauchlan died at the same spot after being taken over the same pitch of ice by an avalanche.
Salesse was from Bathurst, N.B. and was a Search and Rescue Technician from 17 Wing in Winnipeg. He was on a training exercise with three other members of the 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron at the time of the avalanche.
Salesse’s mom, Liz Quinn, was notified by three military personnel at her home in New Brunswick.
Our condolences to Salesse’s friends and family.
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