North Shore Rescue and Talon Helicopters pulled two hypothermic skiers out of a creek in Whistler, B.C. on Thursday night.
According to the North Shore Rescue, the skiers got lost while touring, went too far down the mountain and got stuck in Fitzsimmons Creek, where their feet froze. With the wind chill, temperatures at the time hovered around -50 C.
“Special attention was paid to avoid the Peak to Peak cables and zip lines in this area which are impossible to see at night,” the group said on its Facebook page.
“Two hoist techs were inserted and the subjects were hoisted out in two evolutions.”
North Shore Rescue said the skiers would not have likely survived the night.
Nighttime helicopter hoists are a relatively new power for the volunteer search and rescue group — approved by Emergency Management BC late in 2022 after years of advocacy.
The approval came on the heels of a nighttime incident in which North Shore Rescue was not allowed to hoist a B.C. doctor to safety after he had become stuck on a mountain with a dislocated shoulder, mid-climb.
In that case, the rescuers found him, but had to resort to giving him supplies to survive the night rather than lift him out.