Rescue teams on Vancouver’s North Shore are on standby, hoping a break in the weather and a reduced avalanche risk will allow them to resume a search for two snowshoers.
The search was suspended Wednesday without any sign of 43-year-old Roy Lee and 64-year-old Chun Lam.
They vanished Christmas Day while snowshoeing in the backcountry past Cypress Mountain Resort in West Vancouver.
North Shore Rescue spokesman Mike Danks said that Wednesday was a pivotal day for Lee and Lam, who were not equipped to remain outdoors in the frigid conditions and heavy snow that has fallen since Sunday.
In an email, Danks says rescuers are watching the weather closely but with the high avalanche risk in the alpine and through the treeline, it remains unsafe to enter the search area.
Avalanche Canada forecasts the risk of a snow slide on south coast mountains will decrease by Friday, with conditions remaining dangerous but manageable by those experienced at evaluating snow packs.