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Family and friends of Chris Gulka and Jon Büchner recognized their “remarkable spirits, amazing adventures and outstanding characters” on a GoFundMe page.
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The families and friends of three men who died in an avalanche after summiting Atwell Peak in B.C.’s Garibaldi Provincial Park in May are raising money for the search and rescue team that led the five-week search to find them.
Funds collected through a GoFundMe page will support a celebration of life event for Chris Gulka and Jon Büchner, in addition to Squamish Search and Rescue. Family and friends hope to raise $10,000, with at least $5,000 going to the search and rescue team “for their exceptional service and support over the course of the search and recovery period.”
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Gulka, Büchner and a third mountaineer, who has not been named publicly, summited Atwell Peak on the morning of May 31 before they were caught in a “catastrophic avalanche,” says a message on the GoFundMe page.
“Our community is devastated by this loss,” the message continues. “These young men embodied the spirit of adventure, resilience, and camaraderie that defines the mountain community in the Lower Mainland of B.C. They were not just climbers. Their love of life and warm hearts touched many lives, both within the climbing and outdoor communities, as well as in their work and personal lives.”
The Squamish search and rescue team was notified by police after the men failed to return from the mountain the evening after they reached the summit. Several searchers were able to hike into the shelter at Elfin Lakes, but struggled to access the remote area surrounding Atwell Peak as a storm moved in.
Over the next several days, efforts to fly into the area were hampered by rain and fog. The Squamish team had assistance from a military helicopter, search and rescue crews from Whistler and the North Shore, as well as a drone, but all were eventually grounded.
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Squamish rescue team leader B.J. Chute told media it was “still winter in the mountains.”
The weather turned around a few days later, with rising temperatures kicking off spring snowmelt. Helicopters were able to get a clear view of the peak about a week after the men’s disappearance.
North Shore Rescue air operations coordinator John Blown told Postmedia crews saw evidence of avalanche activity as snow on the cliff faces around the peak had started to soften and shift, but no sign of the men.
At 2,655-metres, Atwell Peak is known as a summit with no easy way up and is usually climbed in winter when snow covers the loose volcanic rock on its steep faces.
Online trip reports say the standard route involves several hundred metres of snow climbing at a 45-degree angle. Several cornices — shelves of snow — usually overhang a steep precipice near the top.
Data posted on a website that tracks successful summits show Gulka successfully reach the top of Atwell Peak on May 31.
As the search entered a different phase, Squamish search and rescue scoured aerial footage, including drone footage of the area, for clues.
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More than a month after they went missing, the bodies of the three mountaineers were recovered on July 8.
Both Gulka and Büchner were experienced mountaineers and well known in B.C.’s close-knit climbing community, with several difficult ascents to their names. Gulka was training to be a paramedic, according to online posts, and was a rower at the University of Victoria. Büchner was a professional photographer, taking stunning photos of snowy peaks and dense forests. Both were from Langley.
A celebration of life is planned for August to “pay tribute to their remarkable spirits, amazing adventures and outstanding characters.”
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gluymes@postmedia.com
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