CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - At least eight people were killed after being buried by snow in three separate avalanches on Friday and Saturday in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia in western Canada, Canadian Mounties said. Officials warned that cold temperatures and recent high amounts of snowfall made the risks of more avalanches in the region, popular among backcountry skiers and other outdoor enthusiasts, extremely high. Search and rescue teams found the bodies of five skiers buried in fallen snow in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, north of Nelson in southeastern British Columbia, on Saturday. They were discovered in a search operation that was delayed for a day because of poor weather conditions in the area, which is only accessible by helicopter, police said. A sixth person in the group of skiers, which was reported missing after failing to return to a remote cabin near Woodbury Glacier in the park on Friday, was still being sought. Mounties were also investigating the deaths of two skiers in an avalanche northwest of the first one. Another avalanche at Elliott Lake, British Columbia, close to the provincial border with Alberta and the Canada-U.S. boundary, buried four friends who were driving snowmobiles on Friday, killing one, police said. With the aid of emergency locating devices that emit beeping sounds, three of the friends were able to dig themselves out after being buried chest-deep in snow, Royal Canadian Mounted Police constable. Steve Small said. Officials have recently warned of high avalanche danger in the mountain areas of Alberta and British Columbia. The region had relatively little snowfall until last week, but recent cold temperatures and subsequent new snow has created the dangerous conditions.