16-year-old stranded in Canadian wilderness after using AI navigation
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A 16-year-old teen in British Columbia, Canada, Bryce Vincent Gowryluk, used Claude to plan a round-trip route from near Grouse Mountain to Crown Mountain, and along the way was led to the steep rock face of the Widowmaker Arete, where his strength and equipment were insufficient to continue, and he eventually called for rescue. North Shore Rescue sent a helicopter, but because he was too close to the rock face for a direct landing, two crew members were lowered to rescue him. Search and rescue manager Paul Markey said a fall could have caused serious injury or death. Other reports say the teen stated he only used Claude to organize his packing list, and route planning was mainly done with AllTrails and Google Maps, and that media reports took the role of AI out of context; Markey said that whether or not a chatbot was used, the teen entered the area without preparation.
Generated by AI from reports · Updated 3 days ago
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- · 5 reports16-year-old used AI for directions and ended up stranded in
- Date not given · 1 reportsCanadian teen denies using Claude to plan hiking route that led to stranding
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- The Guardian · 人工智能16-year-old teen stranded after following Claude's directions while climbing in Canadian mountains, rescued by helicopter
A 16-year-old teen in British Columbia, Canada, Bryce Vincent Gowryluk, used Claude last week to plan a round-trip route from Crown Mountain near Grouse Mountain. Along the way, he was led to the steep rock face of the Widowmaker Arete, where his physical strength and gear were insufficient to continue, and he eventually called for rescue. North Shore Rescue dispatched a helicopter, but because he was too close to the rock face for a direct landing, two crew members were lowered to rescue him and then transported him to a rescue base near Cleveland Dam. During the debrief, rescue personnel said he had deviated far from the planned route. The report states this is believed to be the first case of a hiker getting lost due to AI directions; in July of this year, the same area also saw an incident where three people relied on Google Maps to plan a route on the Howe Sound Crest Trail and needed rescue due to severely inaccurate time estimates.
- India Today16-year-old follows Claude's directions and gets stranded in Canadian mountains; previous incident involved Gemini navigation leading to hiker being stranded
A 16-year-old teen, while hiking back from Grouse Mountain in British Columbia, Canada, followed route directions from Anthropic's Claude, was led off the marked trail, and ended up stranded at the base of the steep rock face Widowmaker on Crown Mountain, forcing a rescue call. North Shore Rescue search and rescue manager Paul Markey said a fall could have caused serious injury or even death; because the helicopter could not get close to the steep rock face, two rescuers were lowered to the teen's location, established anchors, and moved him to a point where he could be evacuated. The report notes that last month a similar incident occurred on Mount Shasta in California, where three climbers used Google's Gemini to plan their route and supplies. Gemini suggested bringing less food and water to lighten the backpack load. The group summited several hours later than the suggested turnaround time, one person injured a knee while descending in the dark, and they were eventually stranded at about 11,000 feet, assisted down by Forest Service mountaineering rangers.
- CTV NewsCanadian teen rescued after following AI directions and getting stranded on Widowmaker
A teenager in British Columbia, Canada, followed route directions given by AI while hiking, got stranded in the Widowmaker area, and was then rescued by rescue personnel.
- Date not givenAI Incident Database16-year-old hiker rescued after being stranded on Canada's Widowmaker rock face following route planned with Claude
A 16-year-old hiker in British Columbia, Canada, Bryce Vincent Gowryluk, used Anthropic's Claude to plan a round-trip route from Grouse Mountain to Crown Mountain, departing from downtown Vancouver at 7:30 AM on Saturday, originally planning for eight hours. After taking the gondola up Grouse Mountain, about 4,100 feet, he descended along a rocky trail into a boulder-strewn valley. Without trail markers, he mistakenly ended up on the Widowmaker Arete on Crown Mountain's cliff face, which typically requires ropes and climbing gear, instead of the Crown Couloir he thought he was on, and subsequently became stranded and was rescued. He carried about 20 pounds of gear, including climbing shoes, a harness, a helmet, and two bottles of water.
- Date not givenAI Incident DatabaseCanadian teen rescued from 'Widowmaker' mountain trail says AI should not take the blame
A 16-year-old Vancouver teen, Bryce Gowryluk, was rescued by helicopter from North Shore Rescue after mistakenly taking the 'Widowmaker' climbing route on Crown Mountain. He said he only used Claude to help organize his packing list, and route planning was mainly done with AllTrails and Google Maps, and that media reports took the role of AI out of context. Paul Markey of North Shore Rescue said that whether or not a chatbot was used, the teen entered a difficult alpine climbing route without proper equipment.
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