An experienced skier who had to be rescued after going out of bounds on Cypress Mountain has promised to be less reckless in the future.
Nikita Markov spent five hours alone in the cold waiting for search crews to reach him Monday night. The 39-year-old was trapped in a steep area about 100 metres up from a waterfall that's claimed lives in the past.
After being accompanied to safety, Markov told reporters he would not be making the same mistake again.
"No, of course not," he said. "I never skied out of bounds here before. It was the first time I made a mistake like that."
North Shore Rescue said Markov, who headed out skiing on his own Monday, is lucky to be alive.
They were able to uses his cellphone to determine his co-ordinates, but it doesn't always work out that way – cell service in the backcountry is spotty, and the batteries drain quickly in the cold.
Markov's battery was down to seven per cent charged by the time he was rescued.
"Don't depend on the cell to get you out," search manager Greg Miller said. "And skiing alone is not a particularly good idea."
Crews used a helicopter to help find the skier, but were not able to long-line him off the mountain due to lack of daylight. Instead, two different teams spent an hour hiking out to reach him.
"Very big thank you to them because without them I probably wouldn't be here," Markov said.
His rescue operation was the third conducted by North Shore Rescue since Friday.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Nafeesa Karim
