1 dead in Saturday afternoon avalanche at Lake Louise

One person died in an avalanche at the Lake Louise Ski Resort on Saturday.

A group of three triggered the Size 3 avalanche in a closed area called the West Bowl around 2:20 p.m., the resort said in a statement on its website. 

"The individuals were swept down to the bottom of the slope. Two of the people were buried. One partially and one fully," Dan Markham, resort communications director, told CTV News Calgary. 

The man who was fully buried, who was in his early 20s, did not survive. 

"[Emergency responders] started life support and by the time they were able to get him back to the patrol station at the base area of the resort with EMS involved, it was determined that he had passed away," Markham said. 

None of the three were wearing avalanche safety equipment, officials say.

Parks Canada is investigating, assisted by the RCMP and Calgary chief of the medical examiner's office.

'WITH THESE FRESH LINES COMES THE RISK'

Officials reminded the public on Sunday of the dangers of entering a closed area. 

“It’s been a really bad snowy year for avalanche danger and that’s the reason the area was closed. 

"Our team has been in there consistently trying to mitigate the situation, but it was deemed that it needed to be closed and the public needed to stay out. There’s plenty of signage available," Markham said. 

“I’ve lost a couple friends before through avalanches and it’s never easy," added ski instructor James Bellenger. 

He advises skiers and snowboarders check conditions before going out, stay in a group, and follow signage. 

“Everyone always talks about chasing the powder, you’re chasing these lines that are completely untouched,” he pointed out. 

"You’ve got to understand, with these fresh lines comes the risk.” 

According to Avalanche Canada, Saturday's avalanche was Alberta's first fatal avalanche this season. 

Fourteen avalanche fatalities have been reported in B.C., including one in Kaslo in January that killed two off-duty police officers who had previously worked in Calgary. 

With files from CTV News Calgary's Nicole Di Donato