Holmes, who had only moved to Canada in March 2009 to join the ITU from British Triathlon, was snowshoeing with two others on Goat Mountain when one of his friends got stuck as they descended an icy slope.

As Holmes, 24, tried to help, he slipped and plummeted 400 metres into Kennedy Lake, said Tim Jones of the North Shore Rescue Society. 

The death of the Loughborough University gradudate marks the third fatality in that same spot since 2002.

A Facebook site has beencreated to honour the memory of the man his friends called "Pistol".

Holmes’s death prompted Jones to warn snowshoers to stay out of Lynn Headwaters Regional Park as icy conditions during the current cold snap present a real danger.

The accident happened in an area closed to snowshoeing as three males were attempting to descend Goat Mountain just before 3pm.

They entered the area after renting snowshoes at Grouse Mountain, Jones said.

The snowshoes had metal teeth on the base, but are no good in such conditions, said Jones.

He said "Snowshoes are for trails, they are not meant for icy slopes.

"This is an area where you need proper crampons, ropes and axes."

At the time of the accident, Jones and other members of North Shore Rescue were undertaking helicopter rescue training in the Seymour Valley.

One team was taken to the site by helicopter and, using crampons, ropes and ice axes, descended Goat Mountain to rescue the trapped male.

He and his companion were removed by helicopter while a second team recovered the victim’s body.

Jones said: "This is an area under closure due to winter conditions and we’re alerting the public that this is a hazard no different from a high avalanche warning.

“These cold and icy conditions are not the green light for people to go into the backcountry with snowshoes."

North Shore Rescue removed two more people snowshoeing in the Seymour Mountain area Sunday after both were injured in a fall.

They were taken out by helicopter.


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