Police suspend search for three mountaineers missing near Squamish, B.C.

By The Canadian Press on June 6, 2024.

The Atwell Peak area of Mount Garibaldi, near Squamish, B.C. is shown from a helicopter, in this handout image provided by North Shore Rescue, taken on Wednesday June 5, 2024. North Shore Rescue crews search for three mountaineers missing since May 31 in the Atwell Peak area of Mount Garibaldi, near Squamish, B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-North Shore Rescue**MANDATORY CREDIT **

SQUAMISH, B.C. – Police in Squamish, B.C., say search and rescue teams have temporarily suspended their efforts to find three mountaineers missing for nearly a week.

RCMP say the pause stems from “significant challenges” posed by unstable conditions on Mount Garibaldi where the trio was last seen on May 31.

They say in a statement that the climbers’ families are requesting privacy “during this difficult time.”

The Mounties say they expect the search will resume after analysis of video footage captured by drones over the last two days.

The statement says the exact timing will depend on weather conditions and reassessment of risks in the area that rescuers describe as remote, with “complex terrain.”

An earlier social media post by Squamish Search and Rescue said Thursday’s effort had involved helicopters, drones, dogs and ground crews.

The previous day’s effort had also involved three helicopters, including one equipped with a rescue-signal detector, but low cloud hampered the operation.

The climbers were reported missing from Atwell Peak, part of Mount Garibaldi, a popular backcountry area about 70 kilometres north of Vancouver.

Local search and rescue teams have shared photos showing aerial views of a steep mountainside with bare rock jutting out from beneath snow cover.