Two members of Arrowsmith Search and Rescue scrambled to Mount Washington Friday night to help search for a snowboarder who went missing on the slopes.
“A snowboarder got lost and took a wrong turn,” Search and Rescue spokesperson Gordon Yelland said. “He ended up out of bounds and lost. The ski hill started looking for him and after a little while decided to call in Comox Search and Rescue.”
The Comox crew assessed the situation and decided to call in the Arrowsmith team as well.
Yelland said only two members, Greg Field and Morris Bowman, joined the search because Comox only wanted people who had taken special training to take part.
“There had been some snow and there was a chance of avalanche,” Yelland said. “They only wanted people who had been trained in avalanche safety.”
The searchers returned to base after darkness fell but raced back to the scene at first light to resume the search.
However, as searchers were being ferried by helicopter to different areas of the mountain, the 28-year-old subject was seen from above.
“They were getting teams organized and transporting people to different areas at around 8:30 a.m. and the helicopter spotted him,” Yelland said. “They landed nearby. They checked to confirm it was him and brought him back to the base.”
Besides suffering from mild hypothermia, the missing man was in good shape.
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