Snowboarder found dead in Cypress 'hell hole'

Search and rescue crews say the place where they found snowboarder Danny Epp's body on Tuesday is a treacherous area of Cypress Bowl that has trapped many skiers and snowboarders over the years.

Epp's body was spotted on Tuesday in the notorious Tony Baker Gully at the 800-metre level on the south branch of Strachan Creek outside the boundaries of the ski resort.

Danny Epp was found dead in a dangerous gully at Cypress Bowl on Tuesday afternoon.

• RELATED STORY: Boarder's body found, search over at Cypress

Searchers say the 22-year-old Epp is not the first snowboarder to be lured by the fresh powder leading into the gully. And he was not the only one to lose his life there.

The gully is named after Tony Baker the first person whose life was claimed by the steep terrain.

George Zilahi, who has been with the North Shore Rescue team for 30 years, was part of the original search for Baker.

He says the Tony Baker and Australian gullies are the two most common places to find missing boarders and skiers searching for fresh powder at Cypress.

"All those drainages are hell holes. Maybe hell hole is not the word to use, it's like a toilet bowl. It just gets narrower and narrower," he said.

Zilahi says the terrain traps skiers and boarders who go out of bounds in search of fresh powder.

"And while you're skiing you don't notice the terrain is narrowing and it's narrowing and narrowing and the next thing you know you're so far down you're committed, and they continue to ski down a 'terrain trap.'"

Epp's body was flown off the mountain late Tuesday afternoon.

Father remembers son

A grieving but composed Norm Epp spoke to reporters about his son, remembering him as bright and carefree, who brought incredible joy to his parents.

He thanked Cypress Bowl for allowing his son to live his life to the fullest. And he said his church and faith will help their family through this trial.

"It's not the end of it all. And we're going to go through some tough times, but we are actually going to have some fun times reliving our past with our son."

The 22-year-old Epp was a student at the B.C. Institute of Technology

• INTERVIEW: The Early Edition's Rick Cluff speaks with North Shore Rescue team leader Tim Jones.