A father and his three teen-aged sons who skied out of bounds at Revelstoke Mountain Resort on Wednesday have been rescued after spending the night in Montana Creek.
A statement from Cpl. Thomas Blakney said the local RCMP detachment was notified at about 2:20 pm by RMR officials after the father called them because they were in difficulty.
Montana Creek is a steep and notoriously dangerous area because there is no where to go if an avalanche roars down it.
Guided by an on-going conversation with the stranded skiers, Revelstoke SAR members on-board a helicopter managed to hover over them and lower survival bags that contained thermal blankets, sleeping bags, an SAR radio, lights, food, water and other items.
All four people were in good health when they were recovered first thing on Thursday morning at about 8 am.
“Unless equipped to go into the backcountry with the appropriate safety equipment, transceivers, probes, shovel and appropriate training with good knowledge of the local terrain, BC resorts, Search and Rescue and the RCMP cannot stress enough the importance to obey ski area boundary marker signs and to stay within the controlled areas,” Blakney said in the statement.
“Rescue missions like this, especially in the current weather conditions — light snow, wind and temperatures below zero — place emergency personnel at risk, let alone those (who are) stranded.”
