B.C. teen rescued from 'Widowmaker' mountain trail says AI isn't to blame
Bryce Gowryluk, 16, was lifted from Crown Mountain by helicopter Saturday
A B.C. teen making global headlines after being rescued from the side of a mountain says AI is not the reason he became stranded.
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he → rescue → mountain
Bryce Gowryluk, 16, an experienced hiker from Vancouver, is frustrated by this week's news stories claiming he used Anthropic's AI chatbot, Claude, to plan the alpine scramble that ended in a helicopter extraction from what's called "the Widowmaker" climbing route on Crown Mountain.
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what → frustrate → Mountain
"People are really taking it out of context, because people think that I planned … or was coerced by the AI to go on the Widowmaker, which is not true," Gowryluk told CBC News.
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Gowryluk → take → News
"I just feel like people who are judging the situation are really unfair in their stance."
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who → feel → stance
Volunteer rescue organization North Shore Rescue posted on Facebook Sunday that they responded to a call the day before about a hiker stranded on Crown Mountain, at the base of the final, vertical climbing wall of the route known as the Widowmaker.
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they → post → Widowmaker
They eventually located him by helicopter.
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They → locate → helicopter
A rescue tech belayed down to the hiker and moved him to "a suitable extraction point," and they airlifted him out.
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they → belay → him
The harrowing photos, and a rescuer's comments that the teen used AI to plan his route, quickly went viral.
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teen → use → route
A photo posted by North Shore Rescue on Sunday shows a teen who had to be rescued from the side of Crown Mountain, north of Vancouver, the day before.
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who → post → Vancouver
Gowryluk says he spent three days planning what was meant to be about the eight-hour hike Saturday from the top of Grouse Mountain to Crown Mountain and back.
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what → say → Mountain
He consulted AllTrails and Google Maps, and admits he cross-referenced some information about the terrain using Claude, but says he mostly used the AI agent to help him with his packing list.
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he → consult → list
He left home around 7:30 a.m., took the bus to Grouse Mountain, rode the gondola to the top and walked to the alpine trailhead.
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He → leave → trailhead
His route was meant to eventually take him through a rugged scramble, but instead he mistakenly turned onto an unmarked route called the "Widowmaker Arete."
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he → mean → route
"There's no warnings," he said.
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he → be → ?
At first, he says, the terrain was "nothing too extreme," so he assumed he was on the right path — until it became too steep and too smooth to count as a scramble at all.
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it → say → scramble
Going back down, backwards, wasn't an option, and neither was staying still on the rock face, he said.
"
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he → go → face
That's when I realized something has gone terribly wrong," Gowryluk said, but he kept climbing, focused on putting his hands and feet wherever they would fit.
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they → realize → hands
"I knew that fear would just lead me to panic, and panic would lead me to my death."
He finally made his way to a ledge wide enough to stand on and called his mom.
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He → know → mom
'I think I made a wrong turn'
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I → think → turn
Joelle Gowryluk says her phone rang in the early afternoon.
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phone → say → afternoon
Bryce is an air cadet with survivalist training and is a certified belayer, she said, and so Joelle felt her son was well prepared for yet another hike — especially in a busy area like Grouse on a sunny, clear day.
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son → say → day
But when she answered the phone and asked what was going on, Bryce said, "I think I made a wrong turn," Joelle said.
"
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Joelle → answer → turn
He just said, 'Mom, I have to call the North Shore Rescue.
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I → say → Rescue
I can't go any further.
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I → go → ?
I've climbed too high and I can't get back down.'
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I → climb → ?
North Shore Rescue search manager Paul Markey said they were dispatched by the police to rescue Gowryluk, who he described as "an adventurous sort."
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he → say → sort
And regardless of whether it was via chatbot or his own navigation, Markey says Gowryluk found himself on a significantly challenging alpine climbing route without the proper equipment.
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Gowryluk → say → equipment
"He was perched on a ledge," Markey told CBC Radio's As it Happens.
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it → perch → ledge
They flew to him quickly, Markey said, and hoisted two rescuers down to him from the helicopter.
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Markey → fly → helicopter
Then they got him to an area where he could safely be hoisted back up, and brought him back down to the base of the mountain.
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he → get → mountain
"It was definitely, a really try-not-to-freak out experience," Gowryluk said, recalling dangling from the helicopter by a harness.
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Gowryluk → try → harness
A still image taken from a video provided by Bryce Gowryluk of Vancouver shows the helicopter that rescued him from Crown Mountain on Saturday.
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that → take → Saturday
Experts warn about relying on AI
Bryce came home that day "pretty shocked," Joelle Gowryluk recalled.
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Gowryluk → warn → AI
Typically, he returns from the mountains very happy and very tired, she said, "but a good tired."
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she → return → mountains
Climbing is positive for his mental health, she added, saying she'll continue to encourage him to hike and climb safely — and always with another person — and hopes other teens will consider it, too.
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teens → add → it
But she worries about the media attention that she feels has focused on Bryce's use of AI while downplaying his experience.
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she → worry → experience
"He's no stranger to these North Shore mountains," she said.
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she → say → mountains
When CBC asked Bryce Gowryluk when he might head back for another mountain hike, he replied, "probably Saturday."
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he → ask → hike
Maritime experts urge use of verified weather reports after kayaker capsizes in B.C. waters
Rescues in the Rockies cost millions each year.
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Rescues → urge → millions
Who pays for them?
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Who → pay → them
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
