The brother of Kelly Reitenbach, the Calgary man who was killed on Friday, after an avalanche swept him away at Eagle Pass Mountain, has claimed that his brother was “well-prepared for snowmobiling” and “had taken avalanche training”.

Bob Reitenbach said on Saturday that his 31 year old brother was a part of a “group of 20 family and friends who had been snowmobiling in the area since Tuesday”.

Kelly Reitenbach worked in the oil industry in Alaska, spending two weeks there and then two weeks back home in Calgary. He is also a former linesman with the Western Hockey League.

An angry Bob Reitenbach said that his brother and the rest of the group were not “young hotdogs”. He claims that all 20 in the group have had gone through extensive avalanche training.

"These are well-educated, intelligent people. These weren't punks and these weren't adrenalin junkies. These were recreational drivers”, said an emotional Bob Reitenbach.

British Columbia Solicitor-General Kash Heed, however, has questioned the judgment of the aforementioned snowmobilers.

He was quoted as saying, “People need to pay attention and adjust their activities based on these warnings”.

“These are preventable accidents and tragedies”, he said.