Prince George, BC – The Canadian Avalanche Centre and BC Coroners Service are reminding winter backcountry users that having essential safety gear with them is not enough…familiarity with the equipment is vital.

Last weekend, an Alberta man was killed in an avalanche while snowmobiling near Valemount.  According to the BC Coroners Service, despite the fact everyone in the group was carrying essential safety gear – avalanche transceivers, probes, and shovels – the victim could not be located for more than three hours.

In a joint news release, the CAC and BCCS are urging those who recreate in the backcountry to take a two-day avalanche skills training course, pointing out that while "modern digital transceivers are very intuitive tools, practice is still required to become adept with their use."

"Avalanche victims have an 80-percent chance of survival if found and dug out within 10-minutes of burial, but the odds drop dramatically after that," says CAC Executive Director, Gilles Valade.  "After just 35-minutes, there's less than a 10-percent chance of survival."