Two Lower Mainland men spent a cold night on Crowfoot Mountain after being stuck in a deep ravine Sunday night.
Chase RCMP received a report of the two stranded Abbotsford men, the 51-year-ol father and son, aged 21 years, at about 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12, reports Const. Gord Sauer.
The men called the Crowfoot Snowmobile Club and stated they had gone into a ravine and needed assistance to get out, but advised they were experienced in the outdoors and were prepared to spend the night on the mountain.
“By 11 p.m., the men called again to say that while they were fine, they would prefer to get rescued that night,” wrote Sauer in a Feb. 14 release. “Volunteers from the snowmobile club ventured onto the mountain in the dark, and got within 500 metres of the men, but were unable to reach them due to darkness and terrain.”
Shuswap Volunteer Search and Rescue search manager John Schut says the men were well-prepared and had managed to get a fire going.
But, on Monday morning, the men were unable to get their fire re-started and realized they were not going to be able to get out of the ravine on their own.
Using GPS co-ordinates, Chase RCMP and 12 members of Shuswap Volunteer Search and Rescue began a search for the men using an RCMP helicopter and calling in the Vernon Search and Rescue helicopter that is equipped with a winch and basket.
Schut says a Vernon SAR tech was winched down to the men to make sure they were all right and to check avalanche conditions.
In the meantime, a team from the Crowfoot Snowmobile Club reached the men and was able to lead them out of the ravine by another route.