Ben Thackeray tragically lost his life doing what he loved in a country he couldn’t tear himself away from.
The 34-year-old Canmore man was killed in an avalanche Saturday (Feb. 14) skiing on a sub-peak of Mount Warspite, south of Mount Black Prince.
Thackeray, a ski patroller at Nakiska Ski Resort and owner/operator of Canadian Rafting Adventures, was originally from Leeds, England, and spent his summers rafting Canadian Rockies’ rivers and skiing fresh powder in winter after moving here in 2006, according to a recent blog post Thackeray made on Guide Advisor.
Thackeray and a group of five people in their 30s went skiing in the Kananaskis backcountry this past weekend despite expert advisories to not head out in potentially hazardous areas. The group triggered a deadly class 2.5 avalanche, 130 metres wide, 600m long and a metre deep that struck Thackeray and the group, pushing them through a timbered slope where they suffered numerous injuries, including one broken leg, and lost much of their gear.
Avalanche debris didn’t bury the skiers and two party members began trying to resuscitate an unresponsive Thackeray. The other two members were able to run to the base of the Black Prince day use area and drove to Mount Engadine Lodge where they called Kananaskis Public Safety.
Seven conservation officers and two public safety officers flew to the scene with Alpine Helicopters just after 3 p.m., where they found two party members trying to resuscitate Thackeray. They were all heli-slung onto Highway 40, where an ambulance transported them to Calgary hospital. Since the entire slope had given away, rescuers determined it was safe enough to complete the rescue.
A special avalanche bulletin originally posted for Friday (Feb. 13) through Sunday was extended until Tuesday and warned the public of extremely dangerous conditions across Rocky Mountain parks.
Parks Canada, Kananaskis Country and Alberta Parks report a deep, persistent, weak layer at the base of the snowpack, which has been overloaded with snow, wind and a week of high freezing levels.
Kananaskis Public Safety officer Mike Koppang said the avalanche risk was considerable on Mount Warspite, which isn’t a commonly used slope for backcountry skiing.
“It’s a different year. The snow pack has a lot going on. There are so many things to watch for. It takes a lot of experience to navigate through that terrain,” Koppang said. “It’s definitely a complex snow pack. The unique weather has created a lot of complex problems.”
Thackeray posted on Guide Advisor that he had adored the outdoors since he was 16 years old and had a love affair with raft guiding.
He came to Canada in 2006 lured by whitewater rafting and rock climbing, and after craving a new challenge, he and a friend started what is now the Canadian Rafting Adventures in 2010 doing day trips on the Highwood River.
He had over a decade of guiding experience.
