A father and son were descending a steep slope on snowmobiles when the son went over a cliff/steep edge and rode down a very steep slope damaging his sled in the process, he signalled back to his father to not follow and to back track. The son was able to walk to another group of nearby snowmobilers but his father did not turn up, and after waiting a while the group returned to the staging area to see if the father had made it back. The father was not at the staging area so the son called the RCMP to advise that his father was missing and Fernie SAR were called to assist in the search for the father.
In the meantime the snowmobilers who brought the son back to the staging area made their way back to the area to see if they could find the father whilst the son remained at the staging area to meet with RCMP and SAR.
Fernie SAR responded by helicopter to check out the area for avalanche risk before sending in a ground team on snowmobiles and in the process located the father and were able to land nearby, as a Fernie SAR member was talking with the father the other snowmobilers also arrived and after it was determined the father was not injured but was just unable to locate the tracks to make it back to the staging area and it was decided the father would follow the other snowmobilers back to the staging area and his vehicle. The Fernie SAR snowmobile ground team remained at the staging area until the party had made their way back.