Mark Salesse: search ongoing for missing RCAF member in Banff National Park
Unclear if rescue specialists have reached area where Mark Salesse was climbing last week
Rescue crews are hoping to reach the area where RCAF member Mark Salesse, a search and rescue technician, was swept away by an avalanche in Banff National Park on Thursday.
Parks Canada says crews had to release more snow on the weekend over the area to control the avalanche risk and more snow is expected to start falling on Tuesday.
Despite the ongoing challenges, Rick Kubian of Parks Canada says crews will look for the missing climber for as long as it takes.
"We'll continue to work at this as best we can until we've located the victim, it is a really challenging scenario. We're hopeful that we're able to have success soon but it is a really challenging area to work in and very rapidly changing conditions," Kubian said.
Ten people, including a pair of dog handlers, are taking part in the search.
Rescue crews spent Saturday using explosives to mitigate the risk of new avalanches.
Salesse, 44, was performing annual training exercises in an area known as the Polar Circus — about 125 kilometres southeast of Jasper on the Icefields Parkway — with three other members of the 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron from 17 Wing Winnipeg when the incident occurred.
Brian Webster, visitor safety specialist for Parks Canada, said Salesse was climbing with a partner when one of them triggered a small avalanche on descent, which swept Salesse over a 60-metre cliff. The other squad member was not injured and descended to his vehicle to call for help.
The recovery operation is being led by a Parks Canada visitor safety specialist team. However, unrelenting snowfall and the risk of more avalanches have hampered search efforts in the area.
"We suspect the initial avalanche didn't bury him very deep, it was a small avalanche," Webster said.
"There has been subsequent avalanches — both natural and explosive-released avalanches — over top of the area, so we're expecting the person to be fairly deep beneath the snow."
Webster said the climbers were not wearing avalanche transceivers.
