KSAR President Paula Davies, Hummingbird Drones Project Manager Nico Torchia, and KSAR Vice President Frank Pryce reviewing drone images from the latest search task. (Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

WINTER SAFETY

Kamloops Search and Rescue emphasizing recreation safety after multiple searches for out-of-bounds skiers

Dec 16, 2024 | 5:14 PM

KAMLOOPS — It’s been a busy two weeks for search and rescue teams in the Kamloops area. Since November 30, they’ve been called out to four separate searches in the Sun Peaks area, with the most recent being Friday (Dec. 13) evening.

“Some skiers went out of bounds somehow, and once that happened, it actually happened to be in an area that we’ve been going to for probably more than ten years. It’s not something new just with the new chairlift — it’s been happening for a long time,” says KSAR Vice President Frank Pryce.

Last week, a search in the West Bowl area had an unfortunate outcome, with missing skier Tomasz Jaholkowski found deceased. Friday’s nighttime search was also in the West Bowl area.

“The huge advantage for us was we were able to get on station pretty early for this search,” notes Hummingbird Drones Project Manager Nico Torchia. “We conducted about seven hours of searching using multiple drones.”

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All three skiers were safely located, thanks to search teams and thermal imaging from Hummingbird Drones.

“One of the subjects was flashing their light on their phone and we were able to pick that up on our camera. And that was really the first sign of the subjects that we were able to see,” says Torchia, who was piloting one of the drones used in the search.

In recent years, Hummingbird has been involved in searches alongside Kamloops Search and Rescue, using thermal cameras to capture someone’s body heat signature, and gathering coordinates to share with search teams. Torchia says drones are tools still in their infancy with search and rescue operations, but he feels the technology can make a difference.

“The wonderful thing about a drone is you can come from different altitudes, different angles and catch those signatures. Whether somebody has taken shelter or is moving through a particular area, we have different procedures and protocols that allow us to overcome those challenges,” says Torchia.

The West Bowl side of the resort does have a new chairlift turning this season, but in each instance, the resort says skiers had gone out of bounds. And it’s prompted a safety message from the resort and search and rescue.

“I’ve skied up there for more than 40 years. I’ve done a lot of searches up there — well the whole team has done a lot of searches up there — and there’s ropes pretty much everywhere,” says Pryce, who feels there is sufficient signage and ropes in place to clarify where the ski boundaries are. “I mean, anybody can get confused and stuff like that, but in general, if you see ropes, you just want to stay on that side of them.”

Along with reiterating the importance of staying in bounds and letting people know where you’re going ahead of time, KSAR is reminding winter recreators that their work doesn’t come with a charge, regardless of why someone wound up lost.

“The whole idea is if people think that they’re going to be charged then there’s a chance that they’re not going to phone, or whatever they’re going to do, try and get out on their own and when that happens then usually it’s (the search effort) delayed, and that’s when things can turn a lot worse,” said Pryce.