*** Snowshoers Rescued after attempting Wilderness 'Shortcut' ***

From: Martin Colwell
sarinfo@mindlink.bc.ca
25th March 1997

Two 20 year-old Vancouver skiers had been expanding their skills after
spending the previous weekend camping and skiing in the Garibaldi Park
backcountry.

Sunday 23rd March 1997:
The two males packed their alpine skis and rented snowshoes at the Cypress
Bowl ski area before attempting to complete the high-level Howe Sound
Crest Trail, from Cypress Bowl to Lions Bay, in one day. This ridgeline
trail, around the 4300ft elevation, is a strenuous undertaking that takes
one long day under good summer conditions. Under its usual heavy winter
snowpack at this time of year it is a fairly serious undertaking,
requiring careful planning and precise navigation.

when the subjects family reported their sons overdue on Sunday night,
24th March '97, at approximately 11.30 pm the North Shore Rescue and Lions
Bay SAR responded to the call for assistance.

Hasty teams were deployed from the southern terminus of the trial, at
Cypress Bowl, and from the North terminus of this section of the trail,
at the village of Lions Bay.

Following a winter of heavier than normal snowfall snow conditions in the
search region were varied, ranging from deep 'postholing' along the trail
at lower and sheltered elevations, to icy hard conditions at higher
altitudes along the exposed ridgeline.

Monday 24th March 1997:
By 4am teams were reaching the ridgeline and the North Shore Rescue team
from Cypress Bowl reported that they were following snowshoe tracks. Two
sets of these tracks returned back towards Cypress Bowl but later a
second pair of tracks were discovered continuing northwards. North of the
summit of St. Marks these tracks left the trail and began to descend into
the very steep western slopes of the ridgeline, towards Highway 99 and Howe
Sound, 4000 feet below. This hillside is very dangerous, due to the many
steep ravines, waterfalls and cliffbands that are characteristic of this
region.

A police FLIR and a private helicopter were called in for use at first
light and at 6am a recconaiscence team in the private helicopter assisted
the closest ground team in locating the subjects. The two snowshoers were
found at the 1400ft level on a steep forested hillside below the snowline.
Other than suffering from an unscheduled night out with only minimal
additional equipment the two males were essentially unharmed.

A series of helicopter 'hot loadings' of the subjects and searchers, close
to the steep hillside, went smoothly and by 8am only the two remaining
field teams, who had spent the last 3 hours in 'hurry up and wait' mode,
high on the icy ridgeline, were evacuated back down to the warmth of the
SAR Base at Lions Bay.

The subjects later reported that on Sunday at 4pm, when they realized they
could not complete their trip in one day, they elected to attempt what
they thought was a 'short cut' down the steep mountain and forest slopes
to Highway 99. The two subjects were fortunate to be rescued from this
region without suffering any injury, as this hillside has been the area
of many incidents, including a number of injuries and at least one very
recent fatality.

Prepared by Martin Colwell
Lions Bay Search & Rescue

PEP Task#: 974406

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