A snowboarder was injured Thursday after being hit by an avalanche on Alice Mountain, about 15 kilometres northwest of Terrace, B.C., the RCMP said.

Two skiers and two snowboarders, part of a tour organized by Northern Escape Heli-Skiing, were in the area when the avalanche occurred at around 1:15 p.m., Terrace RCMP Const. Cindy Nunes told CBC News on Thursday night.

The avalanche was about 100 metres wide and 100 metres long, she said.

The two skiers were able to ski out of the avalanche to safety.

One of the snowboarders, a 19-year-old, was trapped near the surface of the avalanche and was rescued without injury, but his 39-year-old father got buried deeper in the snow, Nunes said. The father and son are visitors from the United States.

Other skiers on the tour came to assist in the rescue.

"There was the guide, the helicopter pilot and one of the clients, who is a physician. [They] were able to locate and extricate the male, who was found to be not breathing. CPR began immediately," Nunes said.

"The father was buried for approximately 10 minutes.... The helicopter transported [him] from the hill to Terrace Hospital, where he is currently in stable condition," she said.

Locator beacons helped rescue

John Forrest, the tour guide with Northern Escape Heli-Skiing, said the snowboarding pair had locator beacons with them.

"The beacons [are] what allow you to actually find the person if they're buried. You couldn't go in the back country without them," Forrest said.

Avalanches in B.C. have killed 10 people in the last two weeks.

Two men died last week after three avalanches within 24 hours at the province's popular Whistler Blackcomb ski resort.

Eight snowmobilers were caught in at least two avalanches on Dec. 28 near Fernie in the southeast part of B.C.