New B.C. avalanches claim 2 lives in 24 hours

Two men are dead after three avalanches in the past 24 hours at British Columbia's popular Whistler Blackcomb resort.

The RCMP confirmed Thursday that a snowboarder from outside B.C. was killed Thursday in one of two avalanches on Whistler Mountain.

On Wednesday, a Whistler man, 37, was killed in an avalanche on Blackcomb Mountain. His body was found Thursday morning.

In both cases, the RCMP say, the men were in areas that had been marked off-limits due to dangerous snow conditions.

"The problem is you've got tempting conditions with fresh snow on the other side of the boundary lines, and people are ducking the ropes to go into those areas," said RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair.

"Those people are putting themselves at great risk, as is obvious by the tragedies that we've experienced in Whistler today."

Police are advising people to stay within ski area boundaries as avalanche danger in the area is currently rated as "high."

Amber Turnau of Whistler Blackcomb Ski resort said the most recent avalanches occurred simultaneously on Thursday afternoon

One was on the "Little Whistler" ski run. Although the run was open, no one was trapped in the slide, she said.

Cellphone GPS used to find body

The other swept through an out-of-bounds area, killing the Alberta snowboarder, 26, who was out on the mountain by himself in an area known as Secret Chutes near the Symphony Bowl, according to RCMP.

Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed said the RCMP told him a body was found on Blackcomb Mountain on Thursday morning.

"The gentleman went missing, didn't return home last night, and a search was initiated this morning, and they recovered the body at about 9:30 a.m.[PT]," Melamed told the Canadian Press.

Police worked with the missing skier's cell phone provider to make use of a GPS function on his phone to confirm that he was still on Blackcomb. His body was found in an area called Spanky's Ladder, which is currently closed to skiers because of an avalanche risk.

Neither victim's name was released.

Melamed said it's clear this season is particularly dangerous.

"The particular conditions we have at the moment are not your normal coastal snowpack. It might be taking some of the skiers by surprise."

Increasing risk this weekend

The Whistler-area avalanches came just days after eight men were buried alive near Fernie in southeastern B.C. They were among 11 snowmobilers from nearby Sparwood, B.C., who were caught in back-to-back avalanches.

Three men survived and left their friends behind after deciding it was too dangerous to stay. A public memorial will be held in Sparwood on Sunday.

There are currently avalanche warnings in place for much of southern B.C., including both Whistler and Fernie.

The Canadian Avalanche Centre issued an updated warning on Thursday, saying that a weak snow pack has created fragile conditions.

The centre said clear skies forecast for the coming weekend will likely bring more people into the backcountry, increasing the risk that someone could be caught up in an avalanche.