Banff Peaks Claim 2 Lives in 4 Days

A multi-day trek into Banff National Park ended in tragedy this week for a woman in her 20s. The RCMP says she lost her footing and fell Tuesday while hiking with three others near Marvel Peak, close to the British Columbia–Alberta border. A Canmore officer said it was an "unsurvivable" fall of "a couple of hundred meters," per CTV News. Her companions reached her, tried first aid, and called for help. Parks Canada rescue specialists attempted a helicopter response Tuesday, but poor weather delayed the recovery until Wednesday morning, per the CBC. Officials are now working to notify her family.

The fatal fall comes days after a 65-year-old Calgary man died in a separate incident on Banff's Mount Temple, marking two deadly accidents on park peaks in less than a week. The man slipped and fell on a trail Saturday evening before members of his group called for help. He was airlifted to a staging area, where he was pronounced dead, per the CBC. He'd been on the mountain's scrambling route, which takes 10 to 12 hours to complete and includes steep rock sections, per the Calgary Herald. Mount Temple has claimed at least three other lives since 2015.