One dead in an avalanche north of Haines near Canadian border

A map shows where an avalanche occurred near Pleasant Camp on Sunday, March 22, 2026.

By Lizzy Hahn

Chilkat Valley News

One person died Sunday afternoon in an avalanche near the Canadian border in British Columbia.

Atlin Royal Canadian Mounted Police received a Garmin SOS alert from a remote location near the Klehini River and Pleasant Camp, according to a news release. When they got the call, one person was reported unconscious and receiving CPR. Atlin Search and Rescue responded with a helicopter and flew out four people who were uninjured, and a fifth who had died.  

RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Vanessa Munn did not share more details Monday but said the accident happened on the Canadian side of the border.

According to Avalanche Canada, the risk is “considerable” in the Haines Pass and by the border. Haines Avalanche Center director Jeff Moskowitz reaffirmed this saying that human-triggered avalanches are likely.

Moskowitz said recent snowfall created sensitive layers in the upper snowpack with winds redistributing the snow. In addition to winds affecting the snowpack, solar radiation can lead to instability and trigger avalanches or increase the likelihood of human-triggered avalanches.

Moskowitz said that “when we get these really cold temperatures,” weak layers are created in the snowpack that get buried with successive snowfall. Additional risks Moskowitz said to keep an eye out for are cornices, or overhanging shelves of snow, as they can “trigger layers deeper in the snowpack,” leading to an avalanche.

Moskowitz said he has seen shooting cracks — a visible fracture in the top of the snowpack — while out in the backcountry. Shooting cracks occur due to weight from above, often caused by skiers traveling on the surface. He has also gotten reports of human-triggered whumpfing sounds, or collapsing, which occurs when the snowpack drops with weight from above. 

Moskowitz said that the strong-over-weak layering is “fairly widespread.” Such layering occurs when stiff snow, often from snow drifts, sits on top of a layer of sugary snow – or snowflakes that don’t stick together well.

For those traveling into the backcountry, Moskowitz advises to “make conservative terrain choices while the snowpack adjusts, and that could include sticking to slopes less than 30 degrees.” Additionally, he said skiers should assess conditions and layers before committing to steeper slopes.

Since 2012, eight people have died because of avalanches around Haines, in addition to an avalanche partially burying one person.

• This story was originally published by the Chilkat Valley News.