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Missed ride, mtn rescue

A couple was forced to be rescued after missing the last ride down the mountain at the Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish.

Shelbee Fulton and her boyfriend hiked the Sea to Summit trail on Sunday and planned to ride the gondola back down, but icy conditions slowed their hike, and they missed the last ride, CTV News reports.

Staff were still on site, but said they would have to pay $60 for the ride, which they didn't have, and the ATM at the summit was out of service, Fulton complained on Facebook.

Staff refused to take payment at the bottom, and as darkness approached search and rescue was called in.

"We were cold as hell, my lips were blue, I cried the entire way down. This has been the most physically and emotionally exhausting experience of my life," Fulton wrote.

Squamish Search and Rescue said the couple was not prepared for nighttime hiking.

They were picked up on a forest service road and brought down the mountain.

"The gondola was running and two girls stepped on directly before us!!! They refused us for reasons that were completely out of our control," said Fulton.

Gondola staff say the couple had not purchased a sightseeing pass, but are following up to review how the situation was handled.

– with files from CTV Vancouver

 



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