Search teams rescue lost skier near Big White

BIG WHITE – A young man who got lost during a skiing adventure spent last night in the backwoods of Big White before search teams rescued him.

Central Okanagan Search and Rescue received a call at 8 p.m. yesterday, Feb. 13, about a skier who had failed to return from a ski in the woods near Big White, according to a media release. The search team worked with the Kelowna Snowmobile Club to look for the missing skier.

One team found the skier's tracks close to Two John Road. They followed the trail until they found the skier, cold and exhausted but alive near the West Kettle River around 2 a.m. Due to the skier's fatigue, the team decided to start a fire and stay in the woods for the night.

At morning's first light, they planned to remove the skier from the forest with help from the winch rescue team Air Rescue One from Vernon Search and Rescue and Wildcat Helicopters.

"It was a long tough night for the search teams in the field," said rescue manager Dave Crawford in the release. "I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to tell someone where you are going."

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