Snow conditions were idea on a very cold and clear night (-17C). The lights of Whitby Oshawa to the south provided an excellent backdrop.

The plan was to come off the hill at 9:00 pm to meet parents and prepare for the 20 minute ride home. Three of the youth, Venturer Donovan Lam, Venturer Megan O'Grady and her 11 year old brother Scout Sean O'Grady went for one last run slightly after 9:00. Megan had passed her cel phone to Molly who arrived in the club house a couple minutes later to announce the others were still on the hill. Molly borrowed the phone to call her parents for a pick-up.

At about 9:06 pm the lights went out! The whole hill and neighbouring Lakeridge Ski Hill disappeared into the night. Lights came on for a few brief seconds and went out again.

At 9:15 or so, Donovan called Scouter Brian Wick from his cel phone to say the three of them were still on the lift and the power was out. We immediately looked for the resort staff confirm they knew this and that action would get them down.

By 9:30 the power was still off and the hill and resort dark. Staff were unable to get a generator started to restore temporary power. The temperature was dropping slightly, now -18C and a slight wind with full exposure on the chair lift, approximately 10 metres above the ground.

Staff from the hill announced they were going to initiate a rescue attempt from the suspended chair, something they had trained for many times but had never actually done in real life. By now, you can image the O'Grady's mother was getting pretty upset. Lots of action continued on the hill as snowmobiles and a snow grooming machine attended the rescue scene to illuminate the area.

At about 10:15 pm the youth arrived at the clubhouse on their skis, cold and shaken. Donovan kept his cool throughout the experience and helped Megan and Sean down from the chairlift using a "thrown t-bar," before himself. He exercised good judgement by calling his leader in the clubhouse to say they were still on the chairlift and safe for the moment.

Exposure to such low temperatures for long periods of time in the dark can lead to severe injury or lift threatening situations. As Donovan said, on arrival at the clubhouse, he could feel his toes anymore. Ski boots don't provide much insulation and sitting on the lift meant they couldn't do anything to keep their feet warm during the hour they sat there.

As Colleen O'Grady said, "All's well that ends well."

On June 6, 2008 Donovan was awarded the "Certificate for Meritorious Conduct" by Scout Canada.

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