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Canadian dies in avalanche

Update -- 8:45 p.m.

Chilean searchers on Tuesday found the bodies of two professional skiers, including a Canadian, who had been missing since an avalanche swept them away while they were hiking in the country's south.

The Associated Press reported from Santiago that the remains of Canadian Jean Phillipe Auclair and Sweden's Carl Andreas Fransson were spotted by a helicopter around noon in bordering Argentina during a joint rescue operation by Chilean police and the armed forces.

Armada Skis, a company in California, confirmed to The Canadian Press that one of the missing hikers was the firm's co-founder, Quebec freeskier JP Auclair, but offered no further comment pending permission from his family.

Auclair's biography on the Armada web site describes him as a prize-winning skier and filmmaker who found a way to combine his two passions. It also said he had obtained Level One certification in avalanche operations through the Canadian Avalanche Association in 2009.

In an interview posted on the site, Auclair recalled meeting Fransson for the first time and deciding to join forces.

"He had lots to teach me and I had a lot to learn from skiing with him," Auclair said.

"Every year, we try to make a bit of time to ski together, but it was always hard with conflicts of schedule and trips. This year, we decided to do something more official and decided to dedicate time to ski together every year," he said.

"We want to ski our ultimate dream locations in the world. He’s a certified guide, so we can go anywhere. That’s his contribution to the partnership and I’m in charge of everything creative from editing to how the project will look and feel. Our goal is to have a really fun project, hang out together, and make a really low key, low energy project."

Auclair also said his approach to his work changed after he became a father.

"Now, I double, triple check and do my homework a lot more thoroughly. The factors that I’m not aware of, I want to make sure it’s dialled before jumping into the unknown."

The grim news prompted an outpouring of grief from the ski industry and the pair's fans.

Officials said the bodies would be removed by Argentine authorities and were expected to be examined by the legal medical service in Rio Gallegos, Argentina, before being returned to their homelands.


Original story 3 p.m.

Chilean authorities were searching on Tuesday for a Canadian and a Swiss tourist missing after an avalanche that occurred while they were hiking in the country's south.

The tourists, whose names have not been released, arrived in Cochrane in the Aysen region of Chile's Patagonia on Friday. Cochrane police Capt. Alvaro Herrera said that rescue officials have been flying over a hard-to-reach area near mount San Lorenzo.

Local Radio Santa Maria says the tourists were part of a crew of four people shooting a documentary, and they managed to alert authorities about the avalanche using a satellite phone.

Two other people in the group who were rescued told police that a wall of rocks and snow cascaded down the mount, trapping them.



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