Responders Team Up for Trail Rescue
- kc dyer
- Apr 7
- 2 min read
Woman injured at Tunnel Bluffs
Members of Lions Bay Search and Rescue (LBSAR) spent their Saturday afternoon successfully rescuing a young hiker near the end of the trail to Tunnel Bluffs.
Warm Saturdays always attract the hiking crowds, and this week was no exception. The young woman was hiking with a group of 12 when she fell.
"She suffered a subsequent lower leg injury that immobilized her," LBSAR manager Brent Calkin told The Watershed.
Calkin said that after receiving the call, the team brought in a helicopter to assist. They hovered the chopper at Tunnel Bluffs and dropped several rescue members to help ready the injured hiker for transport.
"We would suggest that if one is visiting Tunnel Bluffs and a rescue helicopter starts sounding its horn while facing the cliff, it’s time to move as far back as one can," said Calkin. "It may be exciting to see the helicopter letting off rescuers in a hover, but it can be a dusty and abrasive experience when getting sandblasted by rotor blades."
He added that when moving out of the way, it's important for bystanders to hold onto their jackets and bags.
Once the rescue team were on site assisting the hiker, the North Shore Rescue (NSR) helicopter longline team were mobilized. While a Lions Bay team member and a doctor-medic from NSR were longlined in to the location, the rescue team on the ground had to belay the injured hiker down a treacherous rocky scree slope with team members using a 'caterpillar method' to move the stretcher.
This entails stretcher carriers planting their feet, and then moving the stretcher hand to hand forward along the line.
The patient was then successfully long-lined out on a stretcher accompanied by the two attendants. They were met at the Lions Bay School Field by an ambulance that transported the injured hiker to the hospital.
LBSAR provides rescue services without question or charge. Donations to help replace equipment and gear can be made HERE.
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