In just one day, the people who knew and loved Corey Lynam contributed more than $25,000 to the Vancouver man’s widow and young son.
Lynam, whose passion for the outdoors appeared to rival only his love for his family, was killed in an avalanche in Callaghan Valley on Saturday afternoon.
“Corey will always be a shining example of a great friend, husband and friend,” writes Jake Breuer in a GoFundMe campaign page in Lynam’s memory. “He was a passionate and talented skier and kiteboarder. He loved adventure and lived life to the fullest. He will be sorely missed by all who were fortunate enough to know him.”
Lynam, 33, was an engineering lead at Convergent Manufacturing Technologies in Vancouver. An experienced skier, he was in Whistler’s backcountry with friends. He was third to go down the hill when he was swept up in an avalanche.
Whistler Search and Rescue manager Brad Sills told Pique Newsmagazine that the first two two friends "had skied the slope and were part of the way down when (Lynam) got into it. He made a couple of turns and (the snowline) fractured up at the top behind him. (The slide) ran full-path from the peak all the way down to Hanging Lake."
A snow dump earlier in the week mixed with scattered rainfall made the conditions in the area challenging. “Definitely the slopes were loaded and the trigger was set,” Sills said.
Lynam's avalanche airbag was damaged in the slide, Sills said, and his beacon was in "search" mode when he was found with the help of an avalanche rescue dog nearly three hours later.
“We thought we had made the right decision and entered the slope at what we thought was a safe area,” Tristan Jenkins told Global News. “I feel some people, they hear about these stories and they immediately jump to a conclusion that the skier or that snowboarder was irresponsible or he wasn’t safe.
“I really don’t want that message to be delivered, because you have to honour Corey by understanding who he was — a very calculated, considerate, careful individual. He was an engineer and he pretty much engineered every part of his life in that way.”
“It was not extreme terrain,” Avalanche Canada says.
It took almost three hours to find Lyman's body, which was buried in less than a metre of snow. Emergency personnel administered CPR. Lyman had apparently slid the full distance from a ridge he had dropped off down to the bottom of Hanging Lake.
Lynam was one of two backcountry skiers caught up in an avalanche on Saturday.
North Shore Search and Rescue says two skiers were on Hollyburn Mountain when one of them triggered an avalance. He was swept 400 feet through trees, fell off a cliff and was buried in Tony Baker Gully. “The skiers were prepared and had avalanche beacons, probes and shovels. The second skier was able to ski down and locate his partner using his beacon and probe. Luckily there was another ski team of five in the gully that saw the incident and skied down to assist and dig.
“The tem of skiers dug down [two metres] and were able to clear the snow from the buried skier’s face so he could breath.”
Without the extra help from the group of skiers, NSSR says the “work would be very challenging and much more time consuming.”
The skier is in Lions Gate Hospital with multiple injuries.
Avalanche Canada says there is a considerable avalanche rise in the Sea to Sky. “There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the buried weak layer underneath the persisent slab,” its website says. “The interface has remained problematic longer than we’d typically expect on the coast. Cautiously gather info before venturing beyond simple terrain.”
• This story has been updated to correct information about Corey Lynam's avalanche bag. With files from Brandon Barrett of Pique Newsmagazine.
