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Massive avalanche overruns Revelstoke road

A massive avalanche tore down Mt. Cartier's Greenslide avalanche path in Revelstoke early in the afternoon on Sunday, March 9.

Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Times Review

A massive avalanche tore down Mt. Cartier's Greenslide avalanche path in Revelstoke early in the afternoon on Sunday, March 9, blocking Airport Way just south of Greenslide Road.

The slide crossed the road just about 200 metres south of residences in the area.

At the roadway, the slide was roughly eight metres high, although it was difficult to gain perspective past the wall of muddy, clumped snow.

It stopped several metres away from a yellow road sign warning motorists not to stop due to avalanche risk.

Mt. Cartier is located just south of Revelstoke, and its long, smooth southern slope is famous for producing massive slides every few decades.

Witnesses said the slide ran several hundred metres past the roadway, stopping near the Columbia River. It is difficult to confirm the girth of the slide.

A worker on scene said there was no information anyone had been caught in the slide.

There are only a few homes, farms and other structures south of the location where the slide cut off the road.