Victim of Banff Rockslide Identified as Retired University of Alberta Professor

A closed sign blocks the trail to Bow Glacier Falls north of Lake Louise, Alta., in Banff National Park on June 20, 2025. The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh

One of the two victims killed in a rockslide on a hiking trail in Banff has been identified as a retired University of Alberta professor.

The incident happened on June 19 around 1 p.m. on the Bow Glacier Falls hiking trail, according to Parks Canada officials, who said that emergency crews, including RCMP, responded to the area. The trail is a 9-kilometre or 6-mile route along the Bow Lake.

The site is north of Lake Louise on the Icefields Parkway. It’s about 200 kilometres northwest of Calgary.

At the time, RCMP confirmed that one person had been found deceased at the scene, two others were airlifted to hospital, and one was taken to hospital by ambulance, François Masse said during a June 20 joint news conference.

Masse, the Parks Canada superintendent for the area, said that 13 injured visitors and uninjured bystanders were evacuated from the area by search and rescue teams.

A second deceased victim was located by a police dog team later in the day, he said.

The body was not able to be recovered until Friday due to instability and continued hazard.

“Park Canada and RCMP are able to report that no additional persons are believed to be missing at the Bow Glacier Falls and an area closure remains in place for the immediate vicinity,” Masse said.

Jutta Hinrichs has been identified as one of the victims of the rockslide. She was a retired professor from the University of Alberta, living in Calgary.

The University confirmed in a statement that she worked in the school’s occupational therapy department.

“She was integral to developing a southern Alberta satellite for the department,” the statement said.

“Jutta nurtured many students, preceptors and clinicians to flourish and grow. That her work continues to enrich the tapestry of occupational therapy in Alberta is her legacy.”

Hinrichs had also worked as a program coordinator with Alberta Health Services and was a graduate of Queen’s University.

Masse said the rockslide was an “extremely rare” event and was not preventable or predictable.

In total, 100 personnel were involved in the response, he said.

“Parks Canada and the RCMP extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the two individuals who lost their lives. Our thoughts also remain with those in hospital, and we hope for their full recovery.”

Parks Canada has reopened some of the area, he said, including the immediate area around the lake.

“However, the area around Bow Glacier Falls is currently closed and will remain closed for the foreseeable future, because we understand that there’s remaining instability in the rockface there.”

Reactions

Several politicians, including Premier Danielle Smith and Calgary Mayor Joyti Gondek, responded online to the incident.

Gondek said it was “heartbreaking.”

“It has been confirmed by [Parks Canada] and [RCMP] that one of the lives lost was a resident of our great city, a Calgarian. My deepest condolences to their loved ones & to all those grieving this unimaginable loss,” she wrote in a June 20 post on the X social media platform.

She also thanked all the first responders and the medical teams helping those who were injured.

Smith said she was “deeply saddened” to learn of the event.

“We are thinking of all those involved and wishing for their safety as we await further details,” she said in a June 19 post on X.

“On behalf of Alberta’s government, I also want to offer my most sincere gratitude to the emergency crews including search and rescue teams, and [STARS Air Ambulance] for responding quickly.”

The Canadian Press contributed to this article.