Have Fun in The Snow

The following article is an editorial from the Vancouver Sun (28 December) regarding recent backcountry rescues.

In the space of a week — Christmas week, to be exact — rescuers were called on to help lost snowboarders who had ventured out of bounds from the Cypress Mountain ski resort. One went missing for three days before miraculously being found alive, while the other was rescued within hours. In the same week, rescuers responded to a distress call from the Grouse Grind, the popular hiking trail that rises 900 metres from the base to the chalet, a call that turned out to be unfounded as the hiker, reported to have been injured, made it to the top on his own.

In all these cases, people ignored warnings from authorities to stay in bounds and off the treacherous, icy Grouse Grind, which is clearly marked closed for the season. And, in each case, rescuers on the ground and in the air were dispatched at considerable cost and risk to the brave volunteers who donate their time and expertise to help people in trouble on the North Shore mountains.

To read the rest of the article go here.

To read a response/guest opinion go here.