Sledder Rescue in Malakwa

A Quebec snowmobiler is lucky to be alive after going over a steep embankment north of Malakwa yesterday afternoon but in the end was in good shape when he was rescued this morning.

Shuswap Search and Rescue spokesman Don Reid says the man was in a group of 10 snowmobilers, all from Quebec, when he went down a slope and his machine rolled and pitched him off. Reid says the victim walked down into a valley with no roads for about 3400 feet, most of it steep and some almost vertical. However, he left all his gear behind and had no way to light a fire and no avalanche equipment.

The others stayed on a ridge above for the night and kept contact by radio. Rene St. Onge has a ski- do tourism business in the area and thought he knew where the sledder was. He used Google Earth to get a latitude and longitude. Revelstoke's Arrow Helicopters and pilot Mathew Callaghan, flew in to that location with Reid, St. Onge and Revelstoke Search and Rescue Avalanche tech Peter Kimmel and there was the Quebecer waving his arms. He was picked up around 8:30 this morning cold and wet but otherwise o.k.

Bob Crouse, Salmon Arm