'Freak accident': Skier injured in Banff National Park remains in serious condition

Parks Canada says a skier was hurt when they fell down the side of Mount Temple on June 20, following a cornice collapse. Officials say a cornice at the ridgetop failed, which triggered a size 2 slab avalanche. (Supplied/Parks Canada)

A skier who fell down the side of a mountain in Banff National Park following a cornice collapse last week remains in hospital in serious condition, according to a close friend.

Parks Canada said they were called to help on June 20. A pair of skiers had been climbing up the southwest ridge of Mount Temple, south of Lake Louise, when one fell after a cornice, an overhanging ledge or shelf of snow at the ridge of a mountain, collapsed.

The cornice fall triggered a size 2 slab avalanche, which carried the person down the steep, rocky terrain.

The skier, a 40-year-old man, was flown to Calgary in critical condition, suffering from trauma-related injuries.

Craig Doram, a close friend of the man who was injured, told CTV News the two people involved were very experienced backcountry skiers.

“We’ve been friends for a very long time, spent a lot of time in the mountains with him,” Doram said.

“He is a cautious, experienced and well-prepared one, so that’s why it’s kind of hit the community pretty hard.”

The two skiers had headed out to Mount Temple early – around 2 a.m. – on June 20, a day with good conditions. One of them had skied there previously to plan out a route.

From what their friends and family have learned, Doram said he believes the incident was a “freak accident.”

“The one person who ended up falling had stopped in a safe spot, on a very large rock outcropping, and what we know from there is there was a cornice failure and he took a fall down the face,” he said.

“From the discussions we have had, he was in a safe space and he was trying to take a look at the best route to take to avoid any danger when a cornice failure happened, and he was taken down.”

(Supplied/Avalanche Canada)

The second skier was able to ski down from the ridge and locate the man following the avalanche. He called Parks Canada and began administering first aid.

The man was rescued and flown to Foothills Hospital in Calgary by STARS.

Doram said the man remains in serious condition and the recovery is a slow process.

“It was a very serious fall, so there was a lot of trauma obviously to his body, but we’re hopeful he will recover,” he said.

Doram said the family of the injured man did not want him to be identified.

Cornices are unstable pieces of terrain and usually become even more unstable as weather changes, Avalanche Canada says.

Parks Canada said the skiers were well-prepared for the terrain, but warned that all mountaineers should be cautious around ridgetops throughout Banff National Park because these are where large cornices can develop.

“It’s important for people to know that there are always risks and you have to plan for them as best you can,” Doram said.

“I think these two did, and just sometimes things happen.”

With files from Michael Franklin