Watch Huge 3.5 Avalanche Over Bourgeau Left WI5 in Banff
The huge avalanche was seen by dozens of skiers leaving Sunhine Village
Photo by: Brandon Pullan
On Tues. Feb. 23, at around 5 p.m., a size 3.5 avalanche ripped over Bourgeau Left WI5 on Mount Borgeau in Banff National Park. It was observed by skiiers downloading the Sunshine Village gondola around No climbers were in the area.
The avalanche ran over ice climb and the powder cloud dusted cars in the parking lot. There were dozens of natural and controlled avalanches on Feb. 23 after a storm cycle dumped varying abounts of snow up to 30 cm over 48 hours in the Bow Valley area. Always check the avalanche conditions here before heading out.
The first ascent of the ice climb was in 1974 by Tim Auger, George Homer and Rob Wood. It’s often one of the most climbed WI5 routes in the area, but after forming from top to bottom early in the season, the lower 15 metres has melted out.
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