BASE jumper rescued from Stawamus Chief after crashing into cliff
A BASE jumper was rescued from a ledge after he crashed on the Stawamus Chief Saturday morning.
The 30-year-old male made a “hard landing” against the wall of the cliff and became stranded on a ledge about 60 metres from the ground.
He was not seriously injured.
Squamish Search and Rescue were alerted around 7 a.m., and it took about 30 volunteers around eight hours to get the man to the ground.
Rescuers were flown to the top of the mountain by helicopter, then lowered down to the BASE jumper. They secured and lowered him to the ground using ropes.
B.J. Chute, manager with Squamish Search and Rescue, told CTV News the operation was “highly technical” and “very labour-intensive,” especially because of the amount of equipment and personnel involved in this type of rescue.
He urges adventure-seekers to be prepared when heading out into the wilderness this summer.
“It would do well for the people who are recreating to ensure they are well prepared to be out in the elements,” Chute said. “We want people to be prepared to be on their own for a significant amount of time while the search and rescue teams access them.”
He said Saturday’s rescue was the team’s fourth in the past three days. On Friday night, someone fell on the Chief’s trails and it took six hours to get them out.
“The more prepared people are, the more people understand just how difficult it can be to access them and how time consuming it can be to get them out, I think the better prepared they can be,” Chute said.
The rescue was the team’s 37th since January 1.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.