Squamish's Dave Norona was out for his usual early morning sled with a friend on Brohm Ridge Dec. 19, when he saw an unusual sight.
Cutting through the dark, fog and blizzard, he heard a whistle and then a light that turned out to be coming from a very cold, wet and tired snowmobiler who had been stranded overnight.
The Burnaby man up on Brohm for a sled, had gotten stuck and off track near Alice Ridge the evening before and had waited out the night by digging into the snow and hunkering down. He had burned his helmet and belt and was planning to burn his snowmobile to stay warm when Norona found him.
After he had used his whistle, the man had turned on his snowmobile light to attract help.
"I just gave him a big hug and said, 'You did a great job because you are alive. That is all that matters,'" Norona told The Chief. "The reality is, this is a really positive story because he survived. It was wet, and windy and stormy and all sorts of bad things and he did a great job."
Norona gave him some food and dry clothes. It took about an hour to dig the man who then ultimately headed home to his wife and kids.
A person who identified himself as the man thanked Norona in a Facebook post.
“I’m so happy to be home for Christmas with my two lovely kids and wife this makes me realize how life sometimes can be fragile and challenging,” the post read. “This was definitely the longest night ever out in the wilderness alone. It was 17 hours of jumping jack[s] and screaming ‘I will survive’ to stay warm and positive about the situation.”
The Chief reached out to the man for comment, but had not heard back by press deadline.
According to Avalanche Canada, there was new snow Wednesday, with flurries bringing another 10 to 15 cm of new snow, overnight, with moderate to strong wings. The alpine high temperatures were near -4C.
"There was a lot of new snow," said Norona, who is a professional snowmobiler and skier. "It is a common thing. Brohm Ridge can get really fogged in and you can lose your bearings, as you can in any place in the mountains."
Norona said one of the takeaways from the rescue was that the whistle the man used really did work.
Squamish Search and Rescue had been mobilized but would have taken some time to reach the man.
Before spotting the man, Norona's friend had gotten a bit stuck, thankfully, because that is what slowed Norona down and directed his attention to the area of the stranded man. Not many people were out riding, due to the conditions, so Norona says the fellow would likely have faced a long wait had he not been found when he did.
Norona is no stranger to being prepared. He was previously an ambassador for AdventureSmart.
'Most people judge, and it is easy to say, 'You should have done this, you should have done that,' but the reality is everybody has their own level of mitigation in anything," he said.
He likes the message that people should get out there, but be as safe as possible.
As someone who goes out into the backcountry daily and in various weather conditions, Norona recommends carrying a personal locator.
"I check in all the time with my wife, so she knows every half an hour where I am on a map," he said.
He said he got it after getting caught out himself a couple of times, once after dark.
"Another time, also on Brohm Ridge, I had to walk out of there. It got really foggy and we walked down the road — no big deal — but my cell phone had died. After that, I got one of those personal locators and life has been pretty simple ever since."
The locators can be used to contact search and rescue services as well.
Before people head out, he also recommends accessing the BC AdventureSmart resources, including the trip planning feature.
The organization shared the social media posts that Norona made about the rescue.
Reflecting on the incident, Norona stressed he doesn't think he did anything special. A member of the Black Tusk Snowmobile Club, Norona said he has heard many stories from members who also helped out others in the backcountry. "I did what I think any one of the riders would have done," he said.
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