Another follow-up story, but this one has some good news with the bad.
"Burnaby resident Carl Mulherin, 33, became separated from his snowmobiling companions Saturday while the group was on Top of the World glacier, north of Whistler.
A helicopter search team spotted Mulherin on the glacier Monday afternoon. He told rescuers he had dug himself an ice-cave that helped him avoid extreme cold and had enough food to survive the two days. Police said he did not require medical attention."The story also has also details on the heli-skiing operation, which seems to do everything possible to mitigate the hazards of an inherently high-risk sport.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/03/22/bc-avalanche-deaths.html He was a lucky man and did a few things right. The area he was found in is remote, rugged and unforgiving. I have been in this same general area in the summer and would not want to be lost and stuck out there in the winter.
Here is
Google map link of the area. The town of Pemberton BC is approximately 50 kms (30 miles) east of the glacier known as "Top of the World." Whistler, one of the just completed 2010 Olympic sites is 30 kms (18 miles) south of Pemberton.
I like this quote from another news website:
"Mulherin expressed a lot of relief at not having to spend another night in the snow cave," Steers said.
In fact, Mulherin was such a cool head, that he reported to rescuers that he was enlarging his snow cave and "making some renovations and decorations" on Monday, when he realized he might have to camp out for another night.
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Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.
John Lubbock
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