No subject

The tragedy that befell Gilles Blackburn and his wife during a =
disastrous backcountry ski venture in the B.C. Interior was their own =
fault, according to those implicated in a lawsuit launched by Mr. =
Blackburn and his two children.

In statements of defence filed in B.C. Supreme Court, the Golden =
search-and-rescue team, the RCMP and the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, =
where the couple had stayed, deny any responsibility for the loss of Mr. =
Blackburn's wife, Marie-Jos=E9e Fortin, who froze to death during the =
10-day ordeal.

The main thrust of Mr. Blackburn's lawsuit is that officials were =
negligent in failing to launch a search-and-rescue mission despite the =
spotting of several large SOS signs stamped in the snow in the first =
week after the skiers became lost last February, and when Ms. Fortin was =
still alive...

...the RCMP says that the couple's own negligence "caused or contributed =
to [Ms. Fortin's] death."

The statement refers to: the couple's "deliberate choice" to ski outside =
marked ski runs, their failure to notify anyone of their plans, their =
lack of proper clothing, equipment and means of contacting others, and =
their decision to stray from the SOS signs "so that they could be =
rescued in a timely manner."

Similar observations are made in the defence statement filed by the =
Golden and District Search and Rescue Association.

Any injury or damages suffered by Mr. Blackburn and his children were =
caused "whole or in part by the negligence of Gilles Blackburn and/or =
the deceased," the search and rescue team says.