North Shore Rescue shares footage of Cypress Mountain rescue (VIDEO)

North Shore Rescue has posted video footage of the rescue that took place near Cypress Mountain this past Monday.

See also

• Skiers lucky to be alive after cold night outdoors near Cypress Mountain
• Early-season safety advice from a snow industry expert

The incident took place in an area known as Tony Baker Gully, after a pair of skiers had ventured beyond the ski area boundary on Sunday afternoon.

A rescue effort was launched, but with the unstable snow conditions and high avalanche risk, “it simply wasn’t safe” for rescuers to get the skiers out of their predicament, West Vancouver Police Const. Jeff Palmer told Daily Hive.

As a result, the decision was made to put the search on hold, until there was a break in the weather and/or conditions improved.

On Monday, there was “just enough of a cloud break”  to make a helicopter-rescue via long-line extraction, and the skiers were lifted safely off the mountain.

And while the skiers were cold but unharmed when they were rescued, North Shore Rescue’s Douglas Pope told Daily Hive “making a decision like that puts everybody’s lives in danger.”