Rescuers airlifted an American tourist from a popular hiking trail on the North Shore Thursday evening after a snow bridge collapse left the 26-year-old with serious injuries.
The man was hiking with his brother on the Howe Sound Crest Trail near Cypress Bowl when a snow bridge collapsed, burying one of them.
“They were just in an ice-melt area in a snow and ice cave and that snow collapsed on one of the gentleman," said Asst. Chief Martin Leduc of West Van Fire.
“He was sort of face-down in the creek in lots of snow.”
It took the injured man’s brother several minutes to dig him out of the debris.
The brother then called 911 and hiked to a lodge in the Cypress Mountain ski area to meet firefighters.
Crews worked to stabilize the patient, who was conscious during the rescue but suffered injuries to his lower body and had difficulty breathing.
North Shore Rescue then performed a long-line rescue to get the hiker to safety at a landing spot near Cleveland Dam.
The man suffered at least a fractured leg, but full extent of his injuries is unclear.
He was then transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Jeff Yarnold of North Shore Rescue told CTV News conditions in the region can be deceptively treacherous, despite the summer heat.
“There are pockets of snow right now that have melted out from the creeks underneath and people are walking on those, or they are sitting under them, and they look appealing but they’re really dangerous,” he said.
Yarnold said the victim is lucky that fire crews were able to respond as quickly as they did, adding that the visitor was "clearly not prepared" to be in the area.
“If you get off of that trail – which they were off the trail – you’re in very serious mountain conditions, terrain,” he said.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Ben Miljure
