WorkSafeBC investigating incident that saw three heli-skiers killed and a guide critically injured in avalanche on March 23
On March 23, a guided group with White Wilderness Heliskiing was caught in a slide on the Iridium Shoulder ski run on Mount Knauss, north of Terrace, B.C. Three guests were killed and a guide was critically injured before being airlifted to hospital and undergoing surgery in Vancouver. The incident is being investigated by WorkSafeBC as a serious workplace incident alongside probes by the BC Coroners Service and RCMP.
WorkSafeBC says the case underscores that employers remain responsible for assessing and controlling avalanche risks, even when their operations overlap with high‑hazard recreational terrain such as heli‑ski runs, remote highways or resource roads. Under B.C.’s occupational health and safety regulation, employers must ensure workers are not exposed to uncontrolled avalanche hazards when working in or travelling through avalanche terrain.
“It’s absolutely fundamental to making sure that our workers, our most valuable assets, are protected while at their work and that they go home to their families and their loved ones in as good or better shape as they got to work,” says Andrew Kidd, director of prevention field services at WorkSafeBC.
“Many, many workers can be exposed”
Avalanche risk extends far beyond ski guides and patrollers, Kidd stresses. Workers can be exposed while travelling or working in mountainous or steep terrain in a range of industries, from forestry and construction to utilities, transportation and tourism. “Many, many workers can be exposed to avalanche, sometimes even traveling from job to job,” he says.
“Employers, they play a critical role” in making sure those workers are safe in avalanche‑prone environments, he adds. That responsibility includes identifying where workers may be exposed, arranging for a risk assessment by a qualified person, and putting a written safety plan in place before work goes ahead.
That plan should be backed by appropriate training, the right safety and rescue equipment, and clear safe work procedures that are actively supervised in the field. Employers must also “ensure conditions are continuously monitored, workers are properly trained, supervised, and informed, and that work is postponed or stopped when conditions are unsafe.”
What “qualified” really means
WorkSafeBC does not prescribe a specific certification for avalanche risk assessors, but Kidd says the bar is higher than general OHS credentials. A qualified person in this context must be “familiar with the work,” the terrain and the specific avalanche hazards, and “have the means to control those hazards,” whether that expertise comes from education, training, experience or a combination of all three.
“That’s really the core of what makes a person qualified,” he says. “It’s not an area where qualifications really transfer well from one area to another – they’ve really got to know what they’re looking for and how to develop that written safety plan.”
Once a plan is in place, the employer’s duty does not end on paper. Kidd emphasizes that supervision and field checks must confirm procedures are being followed and that equipment is in place and in good working order.
A foreseeable hazard, not a freak event
Between 2014 and 2024, WorkSafeBC accepted 23 avalanche‑related injury claims, including one fatality and 11 serious injuries. The Mount Knauss slide came during a deadly weekend in B.C.’s backcountry that also saw another skier killed near Atlin, amid what Avalanche Canada describes as particularly dangerous late‑season conditions.
The message for employers is clear; if your workers operate anywhere near avalanche terrain, you must treat avalanches as a foreseeable workplace hazard, secure truly qualified assessment and planning, and be prepared to halt operations when nature tips the balance.
