How do you know when a search and rescue effort will be launched if you get into trouble outdoors? It all depends on where you are.
There are different policies at different resorts, but the advice from all of them, to any skier or snowboarder who plans to go out of bounds, remains the same.
The best practice for anyone travelling in the back country is to ensure someone knows when to expect you home, so that if you don't return they can alert authorities immediately.
Policies at Mount Seymour changed after Jamie Martin, the 21-year-old snowboarder who survived three nights of bitter cold near the resort, was pulled from the back country alive.
He had left his vehicle in the resort's parking lot, and it was not reported abandoned for 36 hours.
Now RCMP are notified sooner.
Locating the whereabouts of the owner of every abandoned vehicle helps ensure no lost skiers go unnoticed, but it's time consuming, and a policy that differs depending which resort you visit.
For instance, the free public lots are left unchecked in whistler, where many leave their vehicles while they shop in the village.
"Every night there's 40 to 50 vehicles that are left there," said RCMP Sgt Steve Leclair.
Here there are daily sweeps of regular runs, but the search for an out-of-bounds missing skier or snowboarder begins when they are reported lost. Often by a buddy they failed to meet up with at the end of the day.
"We'll search for the person's vehicle, we'll get Whistler Blackcomb to do a pass scan, see what lift they last utilized. we'll check their credit cards. we'll call their cell phone," said Leclair.
They even use an internet language translator to text cell phones belonging to missing international visitors.
Of course, all this only works when the person who's missing is equipped with such supplies as a cell phone. Food and safety gear to aid in survival are recommended, and the foresight to tell someone when they intend to return.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Sarah Galashan.
