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Two people died in Banff National Park in the last week while exploring the outdoors, police say.
A 24-year-old climber died after a significant fall from Recondite Peak in Banff National Park on Wednesday, while a 33-year-old hiker died on Saturday near Devil’s Thumb and the Big Beehive area by Lake Louise, said local RCMP detachment commander Susan Richter.
Richter said the climber had hiked into the remote area on Sept. 7 to ascend Recondite Peak and was in contact with people via a communication device. They reported him missing on Sept. 9, and police said Parks Canada rescue specialists found him dead the same day.
Richter said he was on his own, but “very trained and experienced in the back country.”
Recondite Peak is in the eastern part of Banff National Park and roughly 3,350 metres high. The area is north of Lake Louise and to the east of the Icefields Parkway. It sits along the provincial border at the Siffleur Wilderness Area.
Parks Canada’s Banff field unit didn’t respond to CBC’s request for information and an interview.
Second death near Lake Louise
On Saturday afternoon, a 33-year-old Calgary man was hiking with three friends near Devil’s Thumb and the Big Beehive close to Lake Louise, said police.
He went on his own to Devil’s Thumb. When his friends lost sight of him, Richter said they reported him missing. Parks Canada rescue specialists were sent out, and confirmed the man had died.
Parks Canada’s Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay field unit is working to get additional details.
A grim summer
Banff National Park and Kananaskis Country have had five other hiking-related deaths this summer combined. A 47-year-old woman died hiking Mount Bryant in June, while a 65-year-old man died on Mount Temple in July, and a woman in her twenties died falling from Marvel Peak that same month.
In August, a woman died on Mount Yamnuska, and a female hiker died on Tent Ridge.
There have also been three drownings in the Bow Valley in the past few months: a 25-year-old American man at Johnston Canyon, a 29-year-old Banff resident at Johnson Lake and a 33-year-old man at Quarry Lake in Canmore.
Richter said regardless of skill level, all people should plan ahead, know the trail and know their abilities when recreating outdoors. She said it’s safer to travel in a group and stick to “well used trails with higher visibility.”
