A missing skier was rescued on June 26 after becoming separated from his friends amid the deep snow of the Howe Sound Crest Trail.
The skier was fine, although he only had one ski pole left and was "minimally equipped," according to Tim Jones of North Shore Rescue.
Jones said the novice backcountry skier, a Vancouver man in his 30s, got separated from his friends on the trail at around noon and was rescued at 6 p.m. After his friends couldn't find him, North Shore Rescue sent field teams into drainage areas and launched an air search with a helicopter, according to Jones. "The helicopter was able to get into a very small clearing on the steep snow slope and drop off two members to follow the tracks," Jones said.
The job of the trackers was made difficult by the erratic route and fast pace of the lost man. Typically, lost skiers will hike beside a creek, but the Vancouver man descended into a gully near the Capilano watershed before going back up a ridge.
"Where he went was so far north of where we thought he was, it's just lucky we picked up his tracks," Jones said.
After climbing up a ridge, the man called 9-1-1 on his cellphone and, just before his phone died, said he could hear the helicopter.
The helicopter team spotted the skier shortly afterwards, partially aided by their knowledge of the limited range of cellphone signals in the area.
In normal summer conditions, a landing in the area would have been extremely difficult, but Jones said the snow was so deep the helicopter was able to touch down near the lost man.
Jones stressed that there are still about five metres of snow on the Howe Sound Crest Trail. "What we really want to emphasize to people is that it's winter conditions," he said. "You need to have an ice axe and really good mountaineering boots."
Jones said moving to higher ground was a good decision, but the lost skier should have retraced his steps or stayed in a clearing where he could see a helicopter.
"A lot of times people get lost and start to panic," he said. Jones also warned against hiking near the drainages. "Going down in these drainages is not a good thing because they could end in box canyons or waterfalls. Typically, that's where people die."
Jones advised carrying a flashlight and wearing very bright clothing that can be seen from the air when skiing or hiking in unfamiliar territory.
