Quebec skier who got lost in B.C. feels guilty about wife's death

The Quebec skier who got lost in the B.C. mountains with his wife said Friday that he feels guilty about her death.

"And I don't think it's gonna go away, but I'll learn how to live with it," Gilles Blackburn said in one of several TV and radio interviews he granted.

Marie-Josée Fortin died of hypothermia after the couple spent a week lost in the wilderness in British Columbia. Blackburn was rescued after he had been lost for 10 days and two days after Fortin died.

Blackburn said Friday that he and his wife stayed warm by rubbing each other's feet. In the hours leading up to Fortin's death — when her hypothermia became severe — she no longer noticed she was cold, he said.

Blackburn blames himself for the decision to ski out of bounds on Feb. 15 near the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in Golden, B.C.

But after that, he said, the responsibility lies with others.

In particular, he blames the RCMP, who didn't launch a search after helicopter pilots reported seeing the couple's SOS signs carved in the snow.

"They have so many helicopters in that area flying. Just tell them to fly lower, or look if it's true."

The RCMP has ordered an investigation into the events.

Fortin's funeral is set for this weekend, with viewing and a service on Saturday.