Back-to-back events leave rescuers stuck on mountain overnight
Lions Bay Search and Rescue (LBSAR) teamed up with North Shore Rescue (NSR) on Saturday night to assist a 70-year-old hiker after a bad fall of about 30 metres down a very steep section of the trail above the village.
LBSAR members provided first aid, but the hiker's injuries required a long-line stretcher rescue, with the assistance of NSR members along with the Talon helicopter. The team handed the hiker over to Emergency Services at Lions Bay School field for transportation to hospital just before dusk.
According to LBSAR Manager Ed Langford, the team was just beginning a debrief when a second call came in, this time for a hiker stranded on the trail to Unnecessary Mountain. The hiker had taken public transit to make his way to Cypress to begin his journey.
"He'd started the hike at 4 p.m. after working most of the day. He hadn't eaten lunch or a proper breakfast, and did not pick up any supplies at Cypress before setting off," said Langford.
The hiker had limited hiking experience, and told rescuers he'd learned of the hike online. He said that after arriving at St. Mark's Summit, he was encouraged by other hikers he met along the trail to carry on to Unnecessary for the amazing views before descending into Lions Bay.
"By about 8:30 p.m. he was exhausted, down to eight percent cell phone battery, out of water and had no headlamp – so he called 911," said Langford.
Since he was uninjured and there was no immediate danger, LBSAR sent a team to hike up and meet him. After feeding and rehydrating the hiker, he felt unable to continue, and so the field team stayed the night, despite worsening weather.
"By 4 a.m. significant cloud and associated rainfall localized over the ridge, pretty much creating miserable conditions for the rescuers and subject," said Langford.
He added that an early morning helicopter managed to navigate around and through the cloud layer and bring all the group members back safely at first light on Sunday, when the young man was handed over to the care of his waiting father.
Langford says that SAR teams are seeing more cases of unprepared and unknowledgeable hikers venturing into the back country.
"This could be described as a classic case of a hiker who didn't know where he was going, didn't know the challenges and time duration required to make the distance, and lacked preparedness, including not having a headlamp for after dark."
Langford noted that the hiker's wireless speaker was bigger than his water bottle and "undoubtedly contributed to draining his cell phone battery."
LBSAR lists 11 essentials that should accompany any backcountry hike on their website HERE.
Langford also had a few parting words of praise for a Lions Bay resident who helped out LBSAR the previous weekend. Blake Cunliffe happened upon a stranded hiking party along the Erin Moore trail, who had just called for assistance.
"After talking with LBSAR, Blake escorted them out, saving the team from another call out," said Langford. "The party was uninjured but absolutely beyond their skill capabilities to navigate the Erin Moore trail, and had taken three hours to go from Oceanview to their predicament at the Lone Tree Creek crossing. Well done and thanks, Blake."
A reminder that the LBSAR is a team of dedicated and highly-trained volunteers who provide these rescue services without costs or questions. Donations to support the team can be made at lbsar.com.
Have thoughts to share about visitors venturing into the back-country under-prepared? Leave your comments below, or email us at editor@lionsbaywatershed.ca
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This is very interesting about the man who headed to St. Mark's Summit after finding out about it online. Last week I noticed a young couple, who were with 4 others, showing the person at the counter at the LB Cafe their cell phone. The counter person said no she didn't know where it was they were looking for (could it have been St. Mark's). Another young fellow came along not 10 minutes later and showed me his cell phone with a small map showing the St. Mark's Summit red dot, in the middle of nothing but "green space". He said they had heard about it from a friend and were following their cell phone map up the h…