Cornelius Brenninkmeyer and Claire Dixon of Kamloops in the last known picture to be taken of the couple. The photo was snapped on Jan. 3. It is believed the couple perished the next day when a snow cave collapsed on them.

Faced with bad weather high in the Rockies, the young couple made the safe choice: build a snow shelter and wait for clear skies.

But what was supposed to protect them became their killer.

Calgary’s outdoor community was shocked Thursday when Cornelius (Kees) Brenninkmeyer, 25, and girlfriend Claire Dixon, 27, were found smothered under a collapsed snow cave in Yoho National Park.

The couple, on a four-week ski tour across the world-renowned Wapta Icefields, stopped on a traverse between huts to make a snow cave.

This is a common tactic among ski mountaineers, protecting them from the area’s sudden whiteouts and keeping them warm overnight.

Public safety wardens for the area said the pair of experienced backcountry enthusiasts made the right choice, blaming the accident near Mount Collie on “extremely bad luck.”

Source: Canada.com