Two snowboarders were rescued last night, Jan. 11, 2019
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/COSAR
January 12, 2019 - 2:51 PM
KELOWNA - When two snowboarders got lost on the back side of Big White they wasted no time in getting help.
When the two men realized they could not find their way, they found a cell signal and called 9-11, according to Ed Henczel with Central Okanagan Search and Rescue.
Once connected to COSAR they were able to send them their exact GPS location.
"They did everything right," Henczel says in a phone interview. "They had some warm weathered gear; they didn’t move away once they sent us their location so they were easy to find...they tried pretty hard to get a fire going and they just hunkered down and waited."
The call came in around 4 p.m. yesterday, Jan. 11. A crew of 10 search and rescue members along with three volunteers from the Kelowna Snowmobile Club tracked them down, a media release says.
After snowshoeing through difficult terrain the two men were brought back by snowmobile to the Big White Ski Resort. There they were met by an ambulance and checked over. By about 2:30 a.m. this morning everyone had gone home.
Henczel says it is important to call emergency services as soon as possible when lost. The 9-11 operator will connect you to the appropriate service, which was search and rescue in this case
"We've had people in the past who have waited 48 hours before they called," Henczel says. "And that is not— I don't know what TV show they got that from— but that's not the case."
— This story was corrected on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019. A previous version incorrectly stated the number of search and rescue and snowmobile club volunteers.
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