Missing backcountry skier on Mt. Seymour rescued in time for Christmas

North Shore Rescue has saved a backcountry skier after he got separated from his party of three on Dec. 24.

Dave Barnett with North Shore Rescue says they were first able to make voice contact with him on Friday afternoon before crews led him to safety Dec. 25 before 3pm.

The crew which consisted of 10 volunteer search and rescue members were able to lead the skier out of Suicide Gully.

The skier was intending to go down the main route but went off trail to an area known as Suicide Gully.

“This area is easy to draw skiers into,” said Barnett. “It’s not only the conditions of the snow, but the nature of the terrain, and in this area we have gulleys and steep slopes and overhangs, and that contributes to making it more dangerous in some areas.”

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Once he was stuck, a heavy, low cloud cover rolled in, making it difficult for rescue teams to reach him by air.

“It’s not so much the storm necessarily as it is cloud cover. You can’t fly in heavy cloud cover, so at the moment the precipitation looks reasonably low. There’s not even heavy wind. It’s really just low cloud cover that’s stopping us from getting to the mountain level,” he said.

They also needed to be careful about not causing avalanches, which further limited their route options.

According to NSR, despite the extreme cold the 50-year-old man only had minor injuries.