An out-of-bounds snowboarder was rescued on Cypress Mountain Sunday thanks to the tracking on his cell phone.
The man, who is in his 40s, went out of bounds and ended up chest-deep in snow in a gully.
“I followed these kids out of bounds,” he told CTV News. “I followed their tracks [and] ended up going [in] the wrong direction.”
After the man called his friend, rescuers were alerted and were able to track him by his cell phone.
“Where I was it was like, a nightmare. Cause it was all fresh powder and so many trees were down,” the man said.
With the recent snowfall, rescuers were worried about sending people into the deep snow and dangerous area. The man was able to climb partially out of the gully and was rescued just before his cell phone battery ran out.
“They saved me cause I hiked for like seven hours,” he said, adding “I was lucky I didn’t get hypothermia.”
Douglas Pope of North Shore Search and Rescue said the decision to go out of bounds is always dangerous on the North Shore.
“The avalanche conditions are moderate today, but there’s a lot of snow and pretty much anywhere on the North Shore going out of bounds can end in very serious consequences and death,” he said.
The snowboarder said this was the first time he went out of bounds and his Cypress pass has been revoked.
