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Missing snowmobiler rescued thanks to weather break, survival skills
By Sam Cooper, The ProvinceMarch 22, 2010
It was both a miraculous rescue, and a brilliant display of survival skills.
That's what police and search teams said after a male Burnaby snowmobiler who had been lost for 48 hours was rescued Monday afternoon on a vast glacier near Pemberton.
Carl Mulherin, 33, was found at 2 p.m. near a snow cave that he had dug, just as a helicopter search was about to be called off due to bad weather, said Pemberton search manager Dave Steers.
Mulherin had been snowmobiling with two friends in an area called Top of the World glacier, when his sled broke down at 4 p.m. Saturday, Steers said.
Mulherin's friends didn't notice he had fallen behind until too late. They had to descend 55 km to Highway 99 to access cellphones and report Mulherin missing, at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
The search for Mulherin couldn't begin until Sunday morning, and extremely bad weather made it "very, very difficult," for ground and aerial crews, Steers said.
The search resumed Monday with about 20 rescuers from Pemberton and Whistler scouring the glacier.
At about 2 p.m., "we had a [weather] window of opportunity that looked like it was closing, and just as it was closing we found Mulherin," Steers said.
He was spotted from a Blackcomb A-star helicopter by search manager Russel McNulty, standing in the snow and waving both arms frantically.
When the chopper touched down, McNolty said "I gather you're the man we're looking for," to Mulherin, who was "grinning from ear to ear," Steers reported. The snowmobiler didn't require any medical attention.
"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.
Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair of the Whistler RCMP said search teams feared the worst with every passing hour.
"To be honest I wasn't optimistic that he'd live," LeClair said. "We thought maybe he'd started an avalanche or walked into a crevasse."
"He was fortunate that he had a good supply of food and water and was dressed warmly," LeClair added.
LeClair said Mulherin's immediate family, including his father in Eastern Canada, "are ecstatic" after hearing about his survival.
Rescuers stress that snowmobilers should invest in satellite phones, if venturing into the backcountry.
Good on S&R again!
By Sam Cooper, The ProvinceMarch 22, 2010
It was both a miraculous rescue, and a brilliant display of survival skills.
That's what police and search teams said after a male Burnaby snowmobiler who had been lost for 48 hours was rescued Monday afternoon on a vast glacier near Pemberton.
Carl Mulherin, 33, was found at 2 p.m. near a snow cave that he had dug, just as a helicopter search was about to be called off due to bad weather, said Pemberton search manager Dave Steers.
Mulherin had been snowmobiling with two friends in an area called Top of the World glacier, when his sled broke down at 4 p.m. Saturday, Steers said.
Mulherin's friends didn't notice he had fallen behind until too late. They had to descend 55 km to Highway 99 to access cellphones and report Mulherin missing, at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
The search for Mulherin couldn't begin until Sunday morning, and extremely bad weather made it "very, very difficult," for ground and aerial crews, Steers said.
The search resumed Monday with about 20 rescuers from Pemberton and Whistler scouring the glacier.
At about 2 p.m., "we had a [weather] window of opportunity that looked like it was closing, and just as it was closing we found Mulherin," Steers said.
He was spotted from a Blackcomb A-star helicopter by search manager Russel McNulty, standing in the snow and waving both arms frantically.
When the chopper touched down, McNolty said "I gather you're the man we're looking for," to Mulherin, who was "grinning from ear to ear," Steers reported. The snowmobiler didn't require any medical attention.
"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.
Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair of the Whistler RCMP said search teams feared the worst with every passing hour.
"To be honest I wasn't optimistic that he'd live," LeClair said. "We thought maybe he'd started an avalanche or walked into a crevasse."
"He was fortunate that he had a good supply of food and water and was dressed warmly," LeClair added.
LeClair said Mulherin's immediate family, including his father in Eastern Canada, "are ecstatic" after hearing about his survival.
Rescuers stress that snowmobilers should invest in satellite phones, if venturing into the backcountry.
Good on S&R again!
