A Squamish man who survived six days in rugged, dangerous terrain is recovering well despite breaking his heel and a few bones in his wrist. On Aug. 30, Stanislav Volo planned to hike the Mount Habrich Loop but instead ended up on an alternate route that led him on a treacherous path trying to find his way to safety. Volo said he was using his phone to navigate, but when he made it to the top of the route, no one else was there. Videos he captured depict a foggy clearing. The 43-year-old said panic set in as he realized his phone had died. “I couldn’t find any sort of direction to actually go down,” said Volo. He said he attempted to descend the mountain but faced steep cliffs. ‘I was eating gummy bears’ He had packed dry clothes, a granola bar, Powerade, beef jerky and gummy bears. On his first evening, he slept on a rock. “The air was so cold I couldn’t sleep all night,” he said. “I was shivering. I was eating gummy bears, for example. That kind of kept the shivering down.” The following day, he said he heard helicopters searching for him, but grappled with staying put or continuing on. “It’s like finding a needle in a haystack, right?” Volo said. Later that day, his portable phone charger began to work, and with his battery at only three per cent he was able to call 911. “My main goal was to be able to let people know that I’m still alive,” he said. That call, and the detailed trip plan Volo left his wife, helped search crews narrow in on where he was. It wasn’t the end of the ordeal though. Volo had run out of food, but he managed to cross a river, and on Friday, he walked out onto the Indian Arm forest service road into the arms of rescuers. ‘Remarkable’ Tyler Duncan, the operations director with Squamish Search and Rescue, characterized Volo’s ability to navigate himself out of the trail as “amazing.” “There’s a reason that area is popular with rock climbers,” he said. “The fact that he was able to sort of pick his way through the few zones that you can get through is remarkable.” Duncan described the Mount Habrich Loop, also known as the Al’s Habrich Ridge Trail, as an intermediate hike that includes some steeper sections. “It’s definitely not a beginner hike by any means, but it’s designed to be accessible by the upper level of the Squamish Gondola’s hiking clientele,” he said. Challenging route Duncan said the loop Volo found himself on is one mountain runners typically do, and added it can be quite challenging. “I would describe the Mount Habrich Loop in the context of Mr. Volo’s day as an advanced, alpine, scramble route. So not a hiking route at all,” he said. “If you get up into that area and it’s foggy and you don’t have good visibility, it’s very easy to lose your way for sure.” Duncan applauded Volo for sending a detailed trip plan to his wife prior to embarking on the trail, which he said allowed the SAR team to narrow their search efforts. “If people don’t know where you are, we won’t know where you are,” he said. His reminder to those wanting to explore Squamish’s terrain is to plan hikes based on your experience level. Duncan also added that while people are highly reliant on using their phones for navigation, technology can have its limits, and said it’s important to carry spare batteries. “If I set my mapping software to its highest level, it will probably drain my phone battery in about 15 minutes,” he said. “It can happen very quickly.” His last piece of advice is that if you do find yourself lost, stay where you are, or move into an area that is highly visible so that search crews can locate you. “We have sort of fjord-style topography where the farther you go towards the water, the steeper it gets most of the time,” he said. “And it’s very easy to get cliffed-out, (or stuck in an area you cannot get down from if you try and take the direct path.” Volo said he’s now focused on his recovery, and is grateful that search crews never gave up looking for him.
