A young Quebec entrepreneur lost her life this Thursday in an avalanche while trying to climb the highest peak in Ecuador.

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“The sky was beautiful, everything was perfect. With a gust of wind, an avalanche carried Rébecca and Éloi, ”said Jeff Thibault-Flynn, a friend of the couple, in a telephone interview with Le Journal.

Rébecca Dinelle, 25, and her boyfriend Éloi Larrivee, 24, wanted to complete the climb of the Chimborazo volcano, located 180 km south of the capital Quito, when an avalanche alarm was triggered at around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.

The avalanche would have occurred for reasons still unknown, the National Service for Risk and Emergency Management of Ecuador said on Twitter.

Éloi Larrivee emerged unscathed from this heavy snowfall.

“Once he regained consciousness, he went to dig up Rebecca. When she was discovered, after several resuscitation maneuvers, she was dead. He called the emergency services and descended the mountain, ”explained Mr. Thibault-Flynn.

perilous climb

The authorities then had to climb to an altitude of 5750 meters in order to reach the base camp where the body of Ms. Dinelle was.

They finally got there around 7 p.m. Thursday night.

The rescue group of the Ecuadorian Association of Mountain Guides and firefighters from the Riobamba region, in particular, were called to the scene to bring the remains of the young woman from Saint-Hubert to the ground, on the Rive -South of Montreal.

"It's very complicated with the snow. My advice would be not to attempt the ascent of Chimborazo right now,” one of the rescuers told local media.

One of the local firefighters was also injured by tripping with his crampons, said Orlando Vallejo, head of the Riobamba fire brigade.

nightmarish journey

The couple had gone to climb the popular summit of more than 6000 meters without a guide, since Éloi Larrivee was an experienced mountaineer.

Rébecca Dinelle had joined her boyfriend in Ecuador a few days earlier, he who was finishing a five-month journey in South America where he had climbed the five highest peaks on the continent.

"She was supposed to come back on Monday, it was her last ascent before returning to Quebec," said Mr. Thibault-Flynn.

Young entrepreneur

Passionate about mountain biking and extreme sports, Rébecca Dinelle owned a communications agency with Jeff Thibault-Flynn for four years in McMasterville, Montérégie.

“She was a woman with a lot of ambitions, projects and dreams. The adventure was at the heart of everything,” recalled the partner of 3 Sphères Communications.

Several employees also wanted to pay him a last tribute on social networks.

“I hope there are the highest mountains and the most beautiful sunsets where you are,” wrote Kim Morissette.

“Take flight, my friend, and make the most beautiful of journeys as you know how to do them so well”, continued his colleague Sabrina Faucher.

Sources: Smithsonian Institute Global Volcanism Program and Ecuadorian Association of Mountain Guides