A man lost his life while skiing on the Kootenay Pass. Another woman is in hospital with injuries. They were part of a party of four skiers who were out trying to enjoy nature, get in some physical activity and just have some fun.
At the same time, an avalanche warning had been released telling outdoors people to be careful.
Despite the warning, a man lost his life in an avalanche.
As would be expected, news of the death created a huge number of comments on the Nelson Star website and Facebook site, the majority of which were sympathetic to the man’s family and their loss.
But there was a small contingent who felt this was the perfect time to lay blame for the incident. That the man and his fellow skiers should have known better or should have stayed at home.
The question is, does that need to be expressed at this moment in time?
After all, a man lost his life.
What is the real, important issue right now? In the past, this paper has been critical of people who get lost in the wilderness, going as far as to say they should pay for the cost of search and rescue efforts. Why? Because it is their own fault for putting themselves in that situation. We still believe that to be true, but this situation is different because a man lost is life.
This is a time to allow the family to mourn. The blame game should remain silent for now.
There’s plenty of opportunity to voice opinions at another time.
People will think whatever they want, and their opinions may even be correct, it just doesn’t need to be said or written. At least not now.
This incident is not about blame or money, it’s not about the dedication of search and rescue workers and it’s not about right or wrong decisions.
It’s about loss, pain and hopefully support.