Smithers, B.C. – Search and rescue crews have been able to recover the body of a snowmobiler from a backcountry area Southwest of Telkwa.

The sledder was killed in a slide Saturday afternoon in the "Microwave Tower" snowmobiling area, in a spot referred to as the “Sun Pit-Sun Bowl”. Smithers RCMP say they believe the avalanche was triggered by snowmobile activity coupled with unstable snow conditions.

Bullkley Valley Search and Rescue President Barry Finnegan says volunteers were able to return to the scene this morning, but only after Ministry of Transportation teams from Terrace conducted some bombing and avalanche control work. Yesterday, operations were also hampered by heavy snow in the area which grounded helicopters.

Finnegan is urging backcountry users to be extremely caution, saying the risk of slide activity is still great. He says an underlying weak layer of snow that fell before Christmas has now been buried deep beneath heavy layers of new snow making large slides a real possibility.

“It’s really important to make wise terrain choices and to keep a really close eye on the avalanche conditions as posted on the Canadian Avalanche Centre website.”

Finnegan says even the best preparations can’t reduce the risk entirely, noting that the other sledder in Saturday’s tragedy was able to very quickly perform a companion rescue. Sadly, it was not enough to save the snowmobiler.

The victim's identity is still not being released.