Solo teen hiker hoisted from mountain cliff after using AI to plan route, North Shore Rescue says

North Shore Rescue said a solo 16-year-old hiker was hoisted back to safety after getting stuck on a cliff on Crown Mountain Saturday afternoon. The call came just before 3:30 p.m. The teen began at Grouse Mountain around 8 a.m., intending to hike up Crown Mountain via a route planned by AI that would ascend through a gully. But when he followed the trail, it led him onto a rock-climbing route with steep terrain, leaving him stuck at the base of a cliff. Volunteers contacted him to confirm his location and carried out a helicopter hoist, lifting two rescue techs down and then flying him back near the Cleveland Dam. Search manager Paul Markey said it was the first time he’d seen someone follow an AI-planned route and urged hikers not to use AI for route planning, recommending tools like Gaia GPS, CalTopo, and AllTrails.