Search crews have found a body at a B.C. ski resort where a 21-year-old skier went missing after a weekend avalanche. Another avalanche Monday killed a skier in Alberta.
In total, four people have died in separate avalanches since Sunday.
The missing skier, Australian Leigh Barnier, was the employee of a private company located near Kelowna, B.C. He was reported missing five hours after a snow slide ripped through an area known as the Parachute Bowl Sunday morning.
Michael Ballingall, senior vice president at Big White ski resort, told 麻豆影视net on Monday that the missing skier was out with friends just before 10 a.m. when he decided to go off on his own.
He said the avalanche started less than an hour later.
"We worked feverishly through the day to make sure there was nobody in that avalanche debris."
On Monday, officials said they were expanding the search to include the backside of the mountain and the surrounding area. Although they discovered a body, officials have not confirmed the identity.
Survivor Steven Colk said he was buried up to his waist in the same avalanche, but managed to dig himself out to help others.
"It felt like I was on my back going down rapids in a river, or a waterslide from hell," Colk told CTV British Columbia.
More than 7,000 acres have been included in the expanded search zone. Sections of the mountain not affected by the avalanche will be swept, but remain open, Ballingall said.
Several dog teams have been called in, as well as a police helicopter capable of scanning the avalanche with infrared vision.
"What we're hoping is Lee's out there somewhere and someone's going to spot him," Ballingall said.
Two other skiers, including a 12-year-old boy, were found alive during the search after being partially buried by the snow. Another man reported missing by officials showed up at the resort safe and sound later that day.
Further south of the ski resort, two more avalanches killed two men.
Eric Hofman, a 44-year-old Penticton resident, died snowmobiling with friends on Mount Arthurs. Another avalanche nearby killed 59-year-old Nanook Brousseau, of Grand Forks, who was also on a snowmobile.
Sunday's avalanches were the most recent in a series of incidents on B.C. mountains.
One man died and another was injured while skiing in an off-limits area of Whistler on New Year's Day. Police considered charging the survivor, who they say caused the avalanche by skiing in a dangerous area.
On Sunday, a father and son who had to be rescued from an avalanche on Dec. 29 were told they would have to cover the operation's expenses.
Officials at North Vancouver's Grouse Mountain said the two were skiing in an off-limits area and forced rescuers to follow them into a "high risk situation."
On Christmas Eve, two snowmobilers were killed in an avalanche on Spanish Mountain, near 108 Mile House. The two were out with friends, despite avalanche warnings in the area.
Quebec man killed in Alberta
A 19-year-old skier from Quebec died Monday in an avalanche near the Alberta resort town of Lake Lousie.
RCMP officials say the unidentified man was swept up in an avalanche at 3 p.m. on Mount St. Piran.
Another skier managed to survive by grabbing on to a tree. He then found his companion and called 911, but the victim died as paramedics rushed him to hospital.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's St John Alexander
