NZ skier digs out Aussie buried by avalanche

A New Zealander has helped save an Australian woman buried by an avalanche during a ski trip in the Canadian Rockies.

He was skiing with three Australians, two women and a man, near the Lake Louise ski resort about 180km west of Calgary, when the avalanche struck.

The women were buried by a wall of snow "big enough to knock cars and trucks off a roadway", according to Banff National Park staff.

One woman was able to dig herself out but the other lost consciousness under the snow, and the New Zealander and Australian man had to rescue her.

Parks Canada spokesman Mark Merchant told NZPA he did not have the names of those involved, but the actions of the two men "made a tragedy turn into a very good news story".

The skiers had been well-prepared with avalanche beacons, probes and shovels.

The avalanche struck around noon at Shoel Valley, in the Paradise Valley area south of Lake Louise , the Calgary Herald newspaper reported.

One man remained on the scene with the two women while the other skied out and contacted the dispatch centre for Banff National Park.

A helicopter flew the women out to Banff Mineral Springs Hospital, and a woman aged 25 was transferred to Foothills Hospital in Calgary by air ambulance.

She was unconscious but breathing, said STARS air ambulance spokesman Cameron Heke.

The hospitals would not release the names.

The avalanche risk at the time was ranked "considerable", meaning natural avalanches were possible and human-triggered slides probable.

- NZPA