Vancouver trail runner rescued from mountain on Christmas Day
Seven members of the North Shore Rescue team rescued the 45-year-old from a snow gully
North Shore Rescue/Facebook
What began as a routine long trail run turned into a Christmas Day rescue mission on Vancouver’s North Shore.
Vancouver-based trail runner Shun Ma had no other option but to call for help after becoming stranded during his descent of Cypress Mountain, a popular hiking and trail-running area in North Vancouver.
Ma said he heard what he believed was a wild animal on the trail and made a sudden decision to take what he thought was a detour. When that diversion put him behind schedule, he attempted a shortcut off-trail, only to become trapped in a snow-filled gully northwest of St. Marks Summit.
In a Facebook post, Ma said hypothermia was beginning to set in and that he had lost one of his shoes. With only one bar of cell service, he managed to contact North Shore Rescue (NSR) for assistance.
Weather conditions prevented a helicopter rescue, with temperatures hovering around 0 C and low cloud cover in the area. Instead, NSR deployed ground crews equipped with snowshoes, avalanche beacons and ropes. After nearly seven hours, the team located Ma, treated him for cold exposure and escorted him safely down the mountain.
Ma is no beginner, and he has more than a decade of trail-running experience, including a top 30 finish at the 2024 Squamish 50-miler. But Ma later admitted that his confidence and experience played a role in getting himself stranded.
“I let my experience become my arrogance,” Ma wrote on Facebook. “I told myself, ‘I know how to navigate. I can handle a shortcut.’ Instead of turning back, my ego pushed me to try a faster route down a creek bed. That decision cost me a shoe—and nearly my life.”
Ironically, Ma had looked into volunteering with North Shore Rescue in February 2025, never imagining the organization would save him less than a year later. “It’s a Christmas miracle,” Ma told CTV News Vancouver. “They are not just rescuers—they are angels.”
Ma called the seven-member rescue team heroes for giving up their Christmas night to save a stranger. “I owe them my life,” he said. “They gave me a second chance.”
The 45-year-old has since donated $3,000 to North Shore Rescue to support its ongoing search-and-rescue operations around the North Vancouver area.
