Five skiers rescued from B.C. backcountry

Four teenage skiers, all 16 and under, and their coach were rescued from Big White’s backcountry Saturday night.

The skiers are all part of Big White Ski Club. According to Big White senior vice president Michael J. Ballingall, the group lost their way after convincing their coach to ski out of bounds.

“When they were out of bounds, they realized that they had gone too far to make it back to the resort. So they stopped and the the one girl had cell service,” he explained. “She actually called 911, and then she called her mother called our ski patrol hut, the ski patrol obviously called their supervisors.”

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Ballingall says, after the skiers called in for help, Kelowna RCMP called Central Okanagan Search and Rescue (COSAR). Meanwhile, Big White sent out their two most experienced backcountry skiers.

Big White’s team found the lost skiers tracks and found the group in just under an hour, they then met up with COSAR and their snowmobiles to get the lost skiers to safety.

Ballingall says, with the skiers found and brought back safely, there is a lesson to be learned from this situation.

“This is a massive mistake by not only these kids but also the coach. They’re trained and and they’re educated, that you never go skiing out of bounds unless you’re prepared. These are ski racers, so they wouldn’t have been prepared to be out of bounds. So, they messed up there,” he said.

Ballingall adds the avalanche danger in B.C.’s wintery backcountry is extreme right now, and it isn’t to be explored without all the proper training and gear.

According to Avalanche Canada, nine people have been killed in avalanches in B.C. this season alone.

With files from Cole Schisler