North Shore Rescue answers the call on Christmas

NSR members, pictured here during a 2008 search, dropped their Christmas Day plans to conduct a search on Mount Seymour on Sunday.

File photo

In keeping with tradition, North Shore Rescue volunteers were called away from their Christmas Day plans to rescue a backcountry adventurer.

One week prior, NSR team leader Tim Jones told The Outlook that he has spent "many many" Christmases executing dangerous rescue operations in the local mountains.

It was foreshadowing at its finest.

On the afternoon of Dec. 25, a lone male skier in his 40s ventured out of the patrolled ski area on Mount Seymour and got caught in whiteout conditions near the First Peak, said Jones, who described the skier as being experienced in the backcountry.

As the storm closed in on the area the man became disoriented and started heading north, away from his planned route. It took him over two hours to work his way back to the first peak, at which point he managed to use his cellphone to call a friend for help.

That friend contacted Mount Seymour staff who in turn dispatched NSR to the scene around 3 p.m. Jones said 14 volunteer NSR strapped on skis and headed off fortuitously in the right direction. The weather had also cleared at that point in the rescue mission which allowed a helicopter to be brought in on standby.

Rescuers located the stranded skier — who was in good condition — just below First Peak at 5 p.m. Jones had feared the man had ventured further west to a dangerous area known as Suicide Gully or east to Indian Arm.

"We don't take any chances in that area," said Jones.

Hampering rescue efforts was the fact that one of the man's friends tried to help rescue his buddy. That forced another NSR team  to divert from the original rescue operation to track down the friend who was later  found on Brockton Point.

"We want to advise people that it's not necessary to do that," said Jones. "It only makes [lost people] more anxious."

In recapping the incident, Jones said there was motivation to get the call over with and get on with Christmas dinner. He was happy to report that team members did get home at a reasonable hour.