{"id":38283,"date":"2026-03-25T05:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T05:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/38283\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T05:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T05:10:08","slug":"white-wilderness-halts-operations-after-deadly-avalanche-that-killed-swiss-father-2-sons-near-terrace-bc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/38283\/","title":{"rendered":"White Wilderness Halts Operations After Deadly Avalanche That Killed Swiss Father & 2 Sons Near Terrace, BC"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\"\"\"White Wilderness Heliskiing was recently ordered to shut down by part of the BC provincial government. | Image: White Wilderness Website<\/p>\n

A day after Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)\u00a0confirmed that three heli-skiers were killed in an avalanche near Terrace, British Columbia, new details have emerged about the victims, the operator involved, and multiple investigations now underway.<\/p>\n

Heli-ski operator White Wilderness Heliskiing was identified as the heliski operator in question. The company has confirmed it has halted operations until further notice following the March 22 slide on Mount Knauss, as authorities and regulators examine the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.<\/p>\n

According to media reports, the three victims were a Swiss businessman from eastern Switzerland and his two sons, adding a devastating dimension to what was already one of the deadliest avalanche incidents in Canada this season.\u00a0A fourth person\u2014identified by the company as one of its guides\u2014survived but sustained critical injuries and is currently undergoing surgery in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Terrace, BC. | Image: Google Maps<\/p>\n

The avalanche struck a group of four heli-skiers on the Iridium Shoulder run, where all were reportedly fully buried. According to White Wilderness guiding manager Michael Brackenhofer, the group was located and extricated within 15 minutes using transceivers and visual clues, including deployed airbags. Despite the rapid rescue response, three of the skiers did not survive.<\/p>\n

In addition to investigations by the RCMP and the BC Coroners Service, the province\u2019s workplace safety authority, WorkSafeBC, has now launched its own inquiry. The agency classified the incident as a \u201cserious workplace incident,\u201d meaning investigators will examine not only the cause of the avalanche but also whether proper safety protocols were followed and if similar incidents can be prevented.<\/p>\n

WorkSafeBC emphasized that employers operating in avalanche terrain are legally responsible for:<\/p>\n

Conducting hazard assessments by qualified professionals
\nContinuously monitoring conditions
\nEnsuring staff are properly trained and supervised
\nHalting operations when conditions are deemed unsafe<\/p>\n

The investigation comes amid heightened concern about avalanche risk across British Columbia, following a deadly stretch of conditions driven by a recent atmospheric river that brought heavy precipitation, warming temperatures, and unstable snowpack layers. Forecasters from Avalanche Canada had warned of considerable to high avalanche danger in the region leading up to the incident, noting that buried weak layers combined with new snow and wind loading created the potential for large, destructive slides.\u00a0March is statistically one of the most dangerous months for avalanches in British Columbia, as the snowpack transitions toward spring while still harboring deep instabilities.<\/p>\n

At least eight avalanche-related deaths have been recorded in the province this season, including multiple fatalities in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

White Wildeness was founded in 2015 by Swiss nationals Marcel Schneider and Martin J\u00e4ger, who converted a fishing lodge into a winter base for heli-ski tours. The company has long marketed to international guests seeking remote powder skiing experiences in the Coast Mountains. The deadly avalanche comes as the company has faced scrutiny in the recent past about its operations and was ordered to shut down\u00a0in May 2025 by British Columbia\u2019s Agricultural Land Commission<\/a>, following a decision that found improper land use within the province\u2019s Agricultural Land Reserve. The heliski operation has continued despite the order, claiming it does not require them.<\/p>\n

An anonymous source contacted SnowBrains to advise of a concerning culture at White Wilderness, describing a culture of pressure to continue skiing despite challenging conditions. In addition, the inside source cited\u00a0concerns about communication, organization, and how safety issues were handled internally.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a strong culture of pushing forward despite conditions\u2026 especially when it comes to keeping guests skiing,\u201d the source said.\u00a0\u201cI personally do not feel confident in how this operation is run from a safety perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is important to note that SnowBrains could not independently verify these claims. Authorities have not indicated any findings of wrongdoing at this stage, and investigations remain ongoing. We have reached out to White Wilderness for comment.<\/p>\n

White Wilderness has suspended all heli-skiing activities while the multi-agency investigation into what exactly happened on Mount Knauss is underway. \u201cThe WWH team sends its heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the three guests who lost their lives,\u201d Michael Brackenhofer, the company\u2019s guiding manager, wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n

More updates are expected as officials release further details in the coming days.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"White Wilderness apparently never got approval for its lodging from the Agricultural Land Commission, who holds jurisdiction over the land where the lodge is located. | Photo: White Wilderness Website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"White Wilderness Heliskiing was recently ordered to shut down by part of the BC provincial government. | Image:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38284,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[22355,5569,41,17,22356,22357],"class_list":{"0":"post-38283","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-switzerland","8":"tag-mount-knauss","9":"tag-ski-industry-news","10":"tag-swiss","11":"tag-switzerland","12":"tag-terrace","13":"tag-white-wilderness"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116288095824030761","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}