Claude's Hiking Route Sends Teen Up a Cliff, Helicopter Rescue Follows

Bryce Vincent Gavriluk is 16 and lives near Vancouver. He asked Anthropic's Claude chatbot for a route up Crown Mountain. Claude pointed him to Widowmaker Arete. That is a steep rock section that requires climbing gear, and he did not have any. He got stuck on a ledge about five feet wide and called the police. The police alerted North Shore Rescue, a volunteer mountain rescue team. The team tracked his phone and sent a helicopter. Two rescuers were dropped above him, and one of them guided him to a spot where the helicopter winched him up. He was not injured. Gavriluk said he does not blame Claude and takes responsibility himself. He also used Google Maps and AllTrails, two mapping apps, while planning the route.

Paul Markey led the rescue operation. He said Claude does not actually know the terrain. AI will not replace experience and common sense on a trail, he said. Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment. Gavriluk says he will keep climbing, but he will never again use AI to plan a route.