Rescued Sun Peaks skiers ducked ropes from new chair lift

Recent rescue operations at Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops have been centred around terrain unlocked by a new chairlift. Though the area has long been part of the resort, the West Bowl Express is bringing more people to the peak this season, which borders the ski area's western edge. "We anticipated different traffic patterns," Sun Peaks Resort spokesperson Christina Antoniak said. "But the high frequency so quickly in the season, taking that next step and venturing out to the backcountry when they're not prepared... we didn't expect something like that to occur." The area was once accessible by T-bar, but its closure in 2020 left it only open for riders willing to hike. The new lift, which riders got to use for the first time on this year's opening day, brought many more riders to the west bowl area and the Gils ski area to the east. READ MORE: It takes a village: How a BC ski resort gets ready for opening day https://infotel.ca/newsitem/it-takes-a-village-how-a-bc-ski-resort-gets-ready-for-opening-day/it107259 West Bowl is generally an intermediate area, accessible for most skiers and riders, while the Gils area is appropriate for more advanced riders. The out of bounds area, however, is proving dangerous, especially because it's not patrolled or groomed. The resort knew more riders would go to the area, but the succession of searches in recent weeks is unheard of for Sun Peaks, Antoniak said. Sun Peaks might normally see just one search and rescue for the season in previous years. Already this year there have been three separate search and rescue operations since Nov. 30 to recover six people who went beyond resort boundaries. All but one were found alive. Two skiers and one snowboarder were most recently found alive in a gully earlier this week. Kamloops Search and Rescue was called for the third time to help ski patrollers with search operations. Before that, the search for 68-year-old Tomasz Jaholkowski ended when crews found his body out of bounds. Whether the new lift brings a prospect of newly available mountain terrain or it's because there are simply more riders at the peak than before that's tempting people to venture beyond the boundaries isn't clear, but Antoniak said the Mount Tod's terrain can be deceIving. READ MORE: First and only Sun Peaks mayor dies at 83 https://infotel.ca/newsitem/first-and-only-sun-peaks-mayor-dies-at-83/it107490 The terrain isn't as intimidating or steep in appearance as Rocky Mountain resorts, for example. From the top it may appear rideable, but Antoniak said it can quickly leave skiers and snowboarders with no exit, into gullies and without cell service. Kamloops Search and Rescue president Paula Davies said crews have been out to beyond the west bowl boundaries in the past, but never with such frequency. She added that it's dangerous terrain. "It's very steep terrain. There's a lot of difficulty with trees, there's a cut block and there's a steep gully, so there's a lot of hazards," she said. Sun Peaks Resort is now stressing to visitors not to venture beyond ski area boundaries in light of a steep increase in searches, with one ending tragically. Antoniak said the resort has already installed signage and ropes designating where riders should stay, but staff are exploring how to better educate riders about mountain dangers before getting onto chairs. To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry mailto:llandry@infonews.ca  or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .