Missing Canadian hiker Prabhdeep Srawn's cousin says 'he's tough enough to still be alive' The rugged area west of Mt Kosciuszko where the search for Prabhdeep Srawn is now centred. Picture: James Morrow, taken with permission from his excellent ozbc.net website Canadian student Prabhdeep Srawn. Search continues for missing Canadian student Prabhdeep Srawn set off on May 13 Cousin says he will still be alive DESPERATE relatives of a Canadian hiker who went missing in the NSW Snowy Mountains two weeks ago are clinging to the hope that his experience in the outdoors will see him through the ordeal. Prabhdeep Srawn, a 25-year-old Canadian student at Bond University on the Gold Coast, set off on May 13 from Charlotte Pass, a small ski resort just 8km east of Australia's highest peak Mt Kosciuszko. The weather that week was mostly fine in the mountains. But on the afternoon of May 13, the first significant cold front of the season approached. Official Bureau of Meteorology data for the nearby top station at Thredbo show that 30mm of rain fell with 70 km/h wind gusts. The next day, 30cm of snow fell. That's the classic Snowy Mountains one-two punch. Drenching rain which chills you to the bone, then fog which disorientates and snow which changes the look of the landscape so it's impossible to retrace your steps. It's a trap which is particularly lethal for northern hemisphere visitors, who often wrongly assume the Australian alpine landscape can't hurt them. The road from Charlotte Pass to the Kosciuszko summit is so wide that tourist buses used to run on it. It's a landscape that can feel benign... and then suddenly turn so brutal. Yet Dr Tej Sahota, a cousin of Prabhdeep Srawn, remains hopeful his cousin - a former military reservist - is tough enough to still be alive. He was a Master Corporal in the Canadian army. He was in charge of his own regiment and they sustained long-term campouts and hikes in minus 25. I go to the gym six days a week but my cousin still lifts more than I do. This is a healthy kid. He is smart too. I can tell you from speaking to other people who have travelled with him that packs a lot of high calorie foods like peanuts and almonds that don't take up a lot of space. He was wearing a winter parka and had recently purchased well-equipped hiking boots. Dr Sahota made headlines this weekend with his offer to pay $15,000 to any hiker who found his cousin. He has since rescinded the offer after advice from Australian authorities that the offer could encourage inexperienced bushwalkers to risk their own safety. Dr Sahota is eager to defuse the suggestion that his cousin may have deliberately gone missing. Prabh was up in Canada about a month ago. We played two games of chess and I beat him both times. He was telling me that this would be his last semester in Australia and he wanted to see a couple more parts of the country. He had had a really great time in Australia, he looked healthy, he looked strong. He didn't look sad or depressed or like he wanted to get away from it all. His roommate said he was in great spirits. Up to 30 searchers from six state and federal agencies, plus two aircraft, are today continuing their search in a rugged area of peaks and ridges to the west of Mt Kosciuszko. The fact they are searching there suggests that Mr Srawn may have summited Kosciuszko, then sought shelter beyond it after the worst of the weather arrived. Dr Sahota has previously expressed anger on Twitter and Facebook at what he perceived to be an inadequate search measures. Today he clarified that statement to news.com.au. I trust the people that are out there. God bless those guys. They are probably taking time away from their own families. I hear they're up at 6.30 or 7 and don't get back to 5 o'clock. I don't think they're incompetent, they just need more eyeballs, more of them are needed. NSW Police today issued a statement describing Mr Srawn as being of Indian appearance with a tanned complexion, medium build and short dark hair. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. Police also believe he may be wearing a red and black "Frogg Toggs" ski jacket. The body of the jacket is described as being red with a black hood and shoulder section.