Photo of 'naive' hikers worries North Shore Rescue

At first glance, the image is quintessentially West Coast: a group of hikers on top of snowy Mount Strachan, framed by blue sky and ocean.

But then you see the peril.

The mountaintop surface is actually a cornice, an overhang of hardened snow jutting out from solid ground.

And the hikers? They appear to be in a dangerous place,standing on a surface that could at any moment give way and tumble hundreds of metres straight down.

After a particularly deadly winter in the North Shore Mountains in which seven hikers perished,North Shore Rescuespokesperson Mike Dankssaidthe photo which was captured by a drone serves as a prime example of how people get themselves into trouble.

Naive about the danger

"They've stayed back a little bit, but they're naive ... standing that close to a cornice," said Danks.

"It'sa real problem, because that's what caused the death of the five people on Mount Harvey. Andwe believe a cornice fracture could be the cause of the two snowshoers who have gone missing as well."

Mount Strachan is apopular hiking destination right in the Cypress Ski Area.

Danks hopes the photo, which was posted to a community hiking website and reposted to the NSR Facebookpage,will serve not only as a warningbut as motivation for people to get educated.

"That's what we want to stress there's mountain courses that you can take locally here on the North Shore," he said.

"Right now we're seeing warming temperatures, and it's just a matter of time until [the cornice] fails.Through the winter they've builtup to a point where they can't hold their own weight, and that's when they'll fracture. And that in turn will cause a big avalanche below as well."