She loved life and lived it to the fullest — that’s how friends and family are remembering an Alberta woman who was killed in an avalanche in Kananaskis country west of Calgary on Friday.
Thirty-four-year-old Minetta Norrie, one of two people killed in separate avalanches on Friday, was back-country skiing with three friends, off Highway 742, near Mount Black Prince, when she was she was swept away by the slide.
RCMP say despite the “diligent best efforts of the other three skiers to provide medical attention,” Norrie was declared dead by first responders.
Emily King-Moore holds a photograph showing herself and long-time friend Minetta Norrie, who died in an avalanche on Friday.
Courtesy: Emily King-Moore
Emily King-Moore, who was Norrie’s friend since they were about 10-years-old, described her as “unforgettable. She was loud and boisterous, confident and full of life.”
“I was her sidekick when we were children,” King-Moore added. “We went to Guatemala to study Spanish when we were teenagers. We were both junior forest rangers during high school as a summer job. We did a ton of hiking. We’ve gone to Cuba together. We most recently went to India for a month together and toured across kind of the north of India.”
“Knowing her means you are presented incredible opportunities. I would say Minetta lived more in 34 years than most people live in several lifetimes,” King-Moore said.
Minetta Norrie lived more in 34 years than most people in several lifetimes, her long-time friend Emily King-Moore said.
Courtes: Emily King-Moore
Norrie was an elementary school teacher for kids with learning disabilities in Calgary.
“She, herself, overcame learning disabilities in school,” King-Moore said. “She lived to inspire those kids to love learning. When she wasn’t doing that, she was out in the mountains or floating down a river — somewhere in nature and going out into the mountains.”
Norrie’s brother, Eric, describes his sister as “a wonderful, adventurous, caring, humanitarian and energetic woman who lived life to the fullest” and included him on many of her adventures.
Trips with her to Guatemala and Costa Rica are amongst his fondest memories of his sister.
Norrie said, when he got the call from a friend on Friday that his sister was dead, he was in shock and said that realizing she’s no longer here will take some time to come to terms with.
Minetta Norrie’s brother Eric describes his sister as “a wonderful, adventurous, caring, energetic woman who lived life to the fullest.”
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“She was my sounding board,” Norrie said. “A big part of who gets me out there doing things is missing from my life. When that piece is gone, it’s very difficult. She was a wonderful complex human being.”
A funeral for Minetta Norrie will be held on Sunday.
Friday’s other fatal avalanche, which occurred earlier in the afternoon, was triggered by two people skiing out of bounds near the Lake Louise ski area. One of the skiiers managed to pull the other out from under the snow and administer first aid, but ultimately it was unsuccessful.
Avalanche experts say conditions in the mountains west of Calgary remain dangerous. Up-to-date information on avalanche conditions is available online at avalanche.ca.