Rescue attempt for 2 out-of-bounds skiers left overnight on Cypress
Organization says avalanche risk too great to attempt rescue Sunday night
North Shore Rescue will fly out at 7:30 a.m. PT this morning in an attempt to rescue two out-of-bounds skiers who spent the night at the Cypress Mountain Resort.
Rescuers say they had no choice but to leave the skiers outside overnight.
North Shore Rescue had warned people to stay out of the back country due to high avalanche risk on B.C.'s South Coast.
"I think these guys are going to be ok, they're going to be very cold tonight and we'll bring them warm fluid and re-warm them in the morning," said NSR team leader Mike Danks last night."But our hands are really tied given the current conditions."
West Vancouver police were first alerted about the two male skiers around 1:40 p.m. PT on Sunday while ski patrollers from the Cypress Mountain Resort searched their boundaries looking for tracks indicating where the two went.
Danks said the pair went into a "very bad area" — a steep, treacherous, avalanche-prone area called the Tony Baker Gulley.
Subjects are located deep in Tony Baker Gulley, a steep, treacherous, avalanche prone area off the Cypress Ski area. <a href="https://t.co/o6dV2fOOEh">https://t.co/o6dV2fOOEh</a>
—@NSRescueRescuers have been in contact with the two skiers through text messages, but know little about them. NSR is trying to contact their families, but does not believe the two are experienced skiers or are prepared for what they now face.
"They're not prepared to spend the night on the mountain at this point, but we're not left with a lot of options, given the situation they've gotten themselves into," said Danks.
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Rescuers will fly out at 7:30 a.m. PT this morning.
The plan is to continue to assess the avalanche risk. The plan described last night is to attempt to fly a helicopter above the pair and drop rescuers down to the two men with gear, food and fluids to re-warm them and get them out.
"We want nothing more than to go in there and get these guys out, but it's a risk," reiterated Danks. "We can't put our members at risk given these current conditions."
With files from Tanya Fletcher.