Good weather conditions in Squamish will hopefully allow a helicopter to search the area where three climbers are considered lost, officials said.
Police and rescue teams hope a window of good weather on Wednesday afternoon will help the search for three mountaineers who have been lost since Friday.
Officials believe the trio has gone missing on Mount Garibaldi near Squamish.
A Squamish RCMP spokeswoman says the clearing conditions could allow an aerial assessment of the area before search and rescue teams are deployed in the “complex terrain.”
Squamish Search and Rescue confirmed a helicopter could search the area Wednesday afternoon due to good weather conditions.
“We are anticipating a potential weather window this afternoon to allow for team members to get an aerial view of the Atwell Peak area via helicopter,” the search and rescue spokesperson said. “The specific timing of the search and rescue operation is dependent on a prolonged clearing trend.”
The climbers were reported overdue on May 31 and were last seen on Atwell Peak on the southern edge of Mount Garibaldi, about 70 kilometres north of Vancouver.
Cpl. Ashley MacKay says in a news release that bad weather and high avalanche risks have been hindering the search in recent days.
The RCMP is working with Squamish Search and Rescue, police dog services and the Mounties air service in the search.
Squamish Search and Rescue manager B.J. Chute says in the release that avalanche technicians will be assessing the risks amid winter conditions in the area.
The RCMP has asked members of the public to stay away from the search area while operations are underway.
Police have not named the missing climbers out of respect for their families.
— With files from Canadian Press
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