B.C. ski resort says it won’t charge for holiday rescues

SUN PEAKS, B.C. – A B.C. ski resort says it won’t bill skiers and snowboarders whose decisions to venture out of bounds prompted rescues over the holidays.

Sun Peaks Resort participated in four separate rescues during the holiday period, including a particularly busy day that saw two simultaneous cases.

Last Friday, two sisters were reported missing and were found several hours later, while an American woman who was reported missing the same afternoon wasn’t located until Saturday morning.

Shortly after those rescues were wrapped up, Sun Peaks suggested it was considering billing the skiers and snowboarders for the resources the resort used to find them.

But the resort now says it won’t be attempting to recover its costs, instead suggesting the skiers and snowboarders make a donation to Kamloops Search and Rescue or tell their stories to the media to raise awareness about the dangers of out-of-bounds skiing.

The resort says Kamloops Search and Rescue bore the majority of the costs associated with the rescues.