(Quebec) The three snowmobilers who died in an avalanche in Gaspésie are fathers in their early thirties who had gone to the Chic-Chocs to pursue their passion for off-piste snowmobiling.
The group of four men from Estrie were hiking in the mountains about twenty kilometers east of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts on Tuesday, in an off-piste area where the federated trails do not go.
Everything was going well until three of them hit a ledge. It then collapsed and the men found themselves buried under the snow, according to our initial information. Some were covered by more than two meters of snow.
The fourth snowmobiler alerted the emergency services around 5:30 p.m. The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) police officers, the Sainte-Anne-des-Monts firefighters and the numerous snowmobile guides who arrived on site in the evening were unable to do anything. to save the three men.
“It’s an extraordinary tragedy,” commented Guy Bernatchez, prefect of the MRC of Haute-Gaspésie. “They were in their early thirties and fathers of families. That makes it even more dramatic,” he added before offering his condolences to the families.
The SQ did not want to give details on the victims, but confirms that they came from Estrie. According to our information, they had already visited the Chic-Chocs in recent months with a guide, and had decided to return to this area eight kilometers from Mont Médaille.
The men were behind the wheel of Snowbnikes or Timbersleds, a type of motocross bike with tracks. These machines are more maneuverable, but less powerful than off-trail snowmobiles.
A guide who participated in the rescue, but does not wish to be identified, speaks of a “stupid accident” that could have hit experienced snowmobilers. “It’s like the year the French died at Lac Saint-Jean. They are powerful machines, they move, they churn, they move quickly,” said the man in reference to the tragedy that occurred in January 2020 when five tourists and their guide sank into the freezing waters of the lake.
Guide David Lévesque, from Adrénaline hors-piste, went to the scene of the tragedy on Wednesday alongside Avalanche Québec to try to understand what had happened.
“The cornices accumulate a lot with the wind, but when the temperature warms up in the spring, it becomes heavier and can fall much more easily,” says Mr. Lévesque.
Without wanting to go too far into the details of the accident for the moment, the guide believes that it is a reminder for snowmobilers in Quebec: avalanches can occur here.
“People who go to Western Canada do avalanche training for snowmobilers, and they encounter avalanches almost every time they go. In Quebec, it’s really in specific places, under specific conditions. But it can happen. »
Consult the Avalanche Québec newsletter
reference: www.lapresse.ca