1 skier seriously injured after B.C. avalanche carries 2 nearly 200 metres down slope

A report on the Avalanche Canada website says one skier has been seriously hurt in an avalanche on central Vancouver Island.

The report says it happened Sunday on Mount Cameron, southwest of Courtenay.

Two skiers were caught in a size two slide that carried both almost 200 metres down a slope, leaving one buried nearly 1.5 metres under the debris.

According to Avalanche Canada,the second skier skidded along the slide's surface and was able to locate and free the injured person within about five minutes, but the exact condition of that person hasn't been released.

The report comes as Avalanche Canadaissuesa special public avalanche warning for recreational backcountry users in B.C.'s South Coast and Vancouver Island mountain areas.

The warning is an extensionof one issued Jan.28. It says forecasters remain concerned about a buried weak layer that is uncommon in this warmer region.

It says recent heavy snowfall has raised the slide risk to high in the alpine and some treeline sections from the South Coast and Sea-to-Sky, east to the entire Columbia range and the Kootenay-Boundary region.

The avalanche danger for many of these areas is high, meaningvery dangerous snow conditions exist and travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.

The likelihood of triggering an avalanche on slopes steeper than 30 degrees is very likely or certain at this time, the warning says.

"In the rugged terrain of the North Shore Mountains and the popular backcountry areas of Vancouver Island, there are lots of places where this layer is a really big problem," Avalanche Canada forecaster Kate Devine said in a statement.

"We urge all recreational backcountry users to be extra diligent in their route finding and give yourselves a large margin for error when travelling in any type of avalanche terrain."