Sgt. Mark Anthony Salesse poses in this undated handout photo.HO/The Canadian Press
He was trained to help people in emergency situations. Now there are rescuers looking for Mark Salesse, the Royal Canadian Air Force search-and-rescue technician who is believed to be buried under a Rocky Mountain avalanche.
Parks Canada visitor safety specialists have been desperately searching for Mr. Salesse, who has been missing since last Thursday.
The Winnipeg-based sergeant was ice climbing the Polar Circus route in Banff National Park as part of a mountain training exercise when he fell some 240 metres and triggered an avalanche.
Mr. Salesse's climbing partner avoided injury and spent time looking for him. The three survivors – whose names have not yet been released – notified visitor safety.
Poor weather conditions and the threat of another avalanche made it impossible for ground rescuers to be on-site at the time. Search by helicopter began Friday, and on Saturday and Sunday explosives were used to break up the snow pack and reduce the risk of additional avalanches.
By the time the explosions were complete, it was too late for rescuers to trek to where Mr. Salesse was last seen. In a statement Sunday, Parks Canada said the risk of avalanches remained high.
Monday's plan is for six search-and-rescue technicians and two rescue dogs to inspect the area to try to find the missing climber.
Parks Canada was asked if Mr. Salesse was equipped with an avalanche beacon, which gives off a signal even when covered in snow. He did not have one, although Brian Webster from Parks Canada told CTV that even with a beacon, Mr. Salesse "would still have been buried, but it would be very easy to home in on the beacon and locate him."
Mr. Salesse, 44, from Bathurst, N.B., was with the 435 Transport and Rescue squadron based at 17 Wing Winnipeg. The training exercise, an ascent of an imposing frozen waterfall, was no easy afternoon. The height of the waterfall is one thing: A change in weather, which alters ice conditions, presents a whole other degree of danger.
Will Gadd is considered the best ice climber on the planet. He has scaled to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, descended into ice caves in Sweden, climbed an iceberg off the coast of Labrador and, just recently, climbed the ice on the Horseshoe Falls section of Niagara Falls.
Mr. Gadd, who lives in Canmore, Alta., has also climbed the Polar Circus and he called it a world-class route.
"If you're an ice climber, this is something you aspire to. It's about 300 metres of climbing and it does have an avalanche risk to it," he said. He added the Polar Circus route gets climbed "dozens of times a year" by those who are trained well enough to handle it.
Mr. Salesse's mother, Liz Quinn, knew the situation was serious when two soldiers came to visit her Thursday at her Moncton home. Ms. Quinn has spoken to media of her son's willingness to help others, describing him as being "six-foot-five but he's a gentle giant, he's a bionic Hercules."
During his military career, Mr. Salesse did two tours of duty in Bosnia. He was also stationed at CFB Comox in B.C., he served as one of the Governor General's foot guards, and he received a Governor General's Medal for bravery for his service in Croatia.