Whistler Search and Rescue (WSAR) is continuing its upward trend of activity year-over-year, with another busy season of 110 requests for assistance, and 92 team mobilizations.
“The 2023-24 Whistler Search and Rescue response statistics are once again higher than the previous year in terms of overall activity,” reads the WSAR annual report, which covers March 1, 2023 to March 6, 2024.
The 92 responses in 2023-24 is an increase of four over 2022-23, when there were 88 responses.
The increase means call-outs have risen for the fourth year in a row.
For the most recent season, the report noted in general, the distribution of call volume over the months was fairly even, with the one exception being the November and December period, which according to the numbers, saw zero and two responses, respectively.
That period is typically very busy, according to WSAR. The reduction in call-outs may have been to do with the very subdued early winter season, when there was minimal snowfall and mostly just rain.
Despite a damp early winter, the year as a whole saw a few peaks: In January 2024 there were 14 responses; in August 2023 there were 13; in July 2023 there were 12—and in March 2023 there were a whopping 19 responses, which stands out as the highest number of responses in a month in the last two seasons.
Notably, for March 2024, which falls into the current year’s reporting to be summed up at this time in 2025, the number of calls is again down, likely due to the reduced activity on the mountain thanks to low snowpack combined with what was a high avalanche risk.
Of the 92 calls last year, the report said nine of them were resolved by “an enhanced program of promoting self-rescue” when appropriate, wherein responders helped the caller download a GPS app onto their phone which helped them with route-finding, and the responding team with knowing where they were. The program also assists those in need with medical instruction, and acts as a much-needed point of contact as they navigate their way back to help.
The report paid reference to the number of call-outs in winter, which was noted to “contribute to significant levels of trauma, largely attributed to the various forms of recreational snow travel,” and was often the result of “sudden de-acceleration” and the associated blunt force trauma.
A breakdown of the activities that triggered a WSAR call-out backed up the assessment, with winter trending ahead of summer.
In 2023-24, there were four snowmobiling calls, 19 out-of-bounds skiers, four out-of-bounds snowboarders, 20 backcountry skiers, and two avalanche calls.
There were plenty of summer activities triggering WSAR responses, however, with 25 hikers, nine climbers, five mountain bikers and one inland water call.
There were also three road rescues and two missing persons responses.
In summer, major trauma calls were usually related to mountain bike incidents. There were 37 summer calls in 2023-24, which included a wide array of injuries, from bone fractures to allergic reactions and fatigue.
Of significant note in the report was the caliber of tasks falling to WSAR, which are increasingly requiring medical evacuations.
“[This] remains the result of BCAS (British Columbia Ambulance Service) practice of deferring calls outside of their organized response areas or beyond their training/skill sets,” reads the report.
By the numbers, call-outs for the season consumed 7,816 man-hours. Thirty-eight calls were medical rescues, 23 were search missions, 31 were evacuations, and there were four fatal incidents.
In terms of location, the areas of note for WSAR appear to be the hills (no surprises there), with the Spearhead Range yielding 17 call-outs, the backside of Whistler 13, and the Garibaldi Lake area 15—though there were 10 call-outs within municipal borders and four within the areas of responsibility of Pemberton SAR.
“Volunteer SAR teams in the Sea to Sky corridor continue to work together co-operatively in times of need,” reads the report. “WSAR worked with Pemberton SAR on five separate incidents in addition to other teams. WSAR continues with a strong response partnership with Whistler Blackcomb when required.”
Perhaps the most high-profile call of the 2023-24 reporting season was the case of missing Whistler senior Robert McKean, who went missing with his dog the morning of Oct. 9, 2023.
More than 300 search-and-rescue members (from 21 different teams around the province) assisted with the search, with help from police, firefighters, and civilians.
On Sunday, Oct. 15 at 1 p.m., after nearly a week of intensive searching, the mass effort was suspended “pending further investigation,” the RCMP said.
“The search will continue,” said WSAR president Brad Sills at the time. “We will continue following up on leads, we’ll do some more aerial flying in the coming weeks, and yeah, police will continue to follow up on any of the tips that they get.”
Asked for an update, Sills said the search for McKean continues.
A profile of the callers
The report also included a breakdown of who was calling for WSAR assistance. The number of individuals assisted came in at 111 for the year, of which 68 were male, and 43 were female, which the report said showed a continued trend of “gender equalization” in that previous years saw a greater number of men versus women being attended to.
“Ten years ago, the call volume was more heavily weighted to young males 15-25 years of age,” it reads, adding as of 2023-24, the age of callers was more evenly distributed.
The largest age groups represented were those between 41 and 50 (29), 31 and 40 (27) and 25 and 30 (24). Only three individuals attended to were over 70, and only two were under 15.
WSAR calls tend to be mostly for Canadians, with only 29 of the 111 individuals reporting an out-of-country address.
The breakdown of Canadians reveals Whistler locals are mostly good to go, however; only 18 individuals called Whistler home, while another 42 were from other parts of B.C., and the remaining 22 were from the rest of Canada.
Whistler heeds avalanche warnings
WSAR was mercifully idle during high avalanche risk warnings in mid-March, in a welcome change to typical March conditions.
“Things have quieted down here for the last two weeks,” Sills said.
“We’ve only been out once—I’m not sure if it’s a reflection of how busy the resort actually is or not, but it’s unseasonably quiet right at the moment.”
The one call was to recover a snowmobiler who injured their knee in the Brandywine area. They were successfully recovered with no issues.
The single call was a far-cry from normal March conditions, Sills said.
“March is our busiest month,” he said. “It started off really busy, but died down. I think the big snowfall that we had and the amount of warnings that the CAA (Canadian Avalanche Association) put out were very effective in raising people’s awareness about what was an appropriate recreational activity.”
Indeed the outdoor recreators of the Sea to Sky were rewarded for their patience with a hefty dump of snow in January and another in late February that made conditions favourable to head out—but warmer temperatures in March increased avalanche risks across the region.
Conditions were so warm the ski-patrol team closed portions of the alpine in-bounds to safeguard against the danger of avalanches, making the out-of-bounds options even sketchier by comparison.
Sills said the low number of call-outs, combined with the low number of fatalities Canada-wide from avalanches, is great news.
“Whether that’s a reflection entirely of a low-snow year, or years and years of public education actually paying off … it would be great if that was the case,” he said.
Avalanche Canada’s statistics record only five deaths related to avalanches for the 2023-24 season, compared to 15 in 2022-23.
Looking ahead, Sills said WSAR is already shifting gears to get ready for summer operations, as warmer conditions on the horizon point to a tapering season of winter activities.
Spring skiing at Whistler Blackcomb
The season isn’t over yet, with Whistler Blackcomb open for skiing and riding until May 20.
Both Whistler and Blackcomb mountains will remain open for winter operations until April 14, after which skiing and riding will shift to Whistler Mountain exclusively, with Blackcomb closing for the season to accommodate lift maintenance requirements, and to continue on the Jersey Cream project, which will upgrade the current 4-pack to a high-speed 6-pack chairlift ahead of the winter 2024-25 season.
The final day for skiing and riding in the 2023-24 season is May 20 (conditions permitting).
-with files from Braden Dupuis
