RCMP in Revelstoke, B.C. have identified the two men who died in Saturday's avalanche.
33-year-old Curtis Reynolds of Strathmore and 33-year-old Shay Snortland of Lacombe were killed in the avalanche on Boulder Mountain at a snowmobiling event.
30 others were injured in the slide, which came crashing down on both riders and spectators in an unsanctioned event called the "Big Iron Shootout."
The Calgary Herald reports the two men were business partners in Strathmore where Snortland owned an oil rig hauling company.
Both loved snowmobiling and were good friends. They leave behind four children.
It's believed up to 200 people were taking part in Saturday's event in Revelstoke. It involved a contest in which snowmobilers try to climb the highest on a mountain, leaving the highest mark.
"It sounded like thunder. It was really loud so I looked up and saw it coming. It was about 30-feet high," says Ben Basaraba, who broke his neck after being thrown hundreds of metres by the wall of snow.
"There was nothing you could do. It hit fast and was like a freight train when it hit us. It just blew everybody from off their feet," says George Hall who went to B.C. from Montana just to see the event.
After the snow settled, screams filled the air and arms and legs could be seen sticking out of the snow as people tried to dig themselves out.
No one could believe what they were seeing. Traumatized grown men were crying and consoling each other.
The widow of one of the men killed in the slide is now demanding answers.
Janine Snortland wonders why the event went ahead when there was a high avalanche risk.
"If you go out sledding on your own, you're taking that risk. When you have a planned event they should be taking charge. Obviously, that's not the case," Snortland tells the Herald.
She believes local officials should be taking some of the blame for this, but that comment is being challenged by Revelstoke's mayor.
"The city has no role or legal responsibility over that event in any way, shape or form," Mayor David Raven tells the Calgary Herald.
He explains this event happened outside city limits and there is nothing he could do to stop the event from happening.