Backcountry Beacon

While driving up Little Cottonwood Canyon, I received the news that an extraordinary person and dear friend, Jack Hannan, had passed away. My heart sank deep into my insides. On March 31^st, Jack and three others were dropped off by helicopter on Mt. Currie (near Jack’s home in Pemberton, BC) for a fun day of backcountry skiing. The crew had safely skied down their line and had been getting ready to boot-pack up to another area of the peak when the highest member of the group suddenly noticed a slide heading straight towards them. Jack was positioned a bit lower than the rest of the group and was the only one swept away by the avalanche. It’s believed that the Class 3 slide occurred naturally due to a cornice failure. The rest of his party wasn’t harmed by the slide, and they were able to find and uncover him quickly, but unfortunately the trauma was too much for Jack, and it’s believed he was killed instantly. Read More …