WEST VANCOUVER -- A woman and her dog spent a harrowing few hours unprepared and lost near Cypress Mountain Sunday night as a snowstorm hit the North Shore mountains.
According to North Shore Rescue the woman and her dog, named Skye, left on a hike around 1 p.m., with the intention of heading toward Eagle Bluffs.
By the time the duo reached the Black Mountain area, the hiker realized daylight was fading and she called police for help.
“She got caught thinking she had enough time to get up and get back down thought she had enough time, but she didn’t,” North Shore Rescue search manager Allan McMordie told CTV News.
North Shore Rescue launched a search around 7 p.m, just as heavy snow began falling.
The woman had a small backpack with some food and water, but didn’t have a map, a flashlight or extra layers, like gloves. The woman also didn’t tell anyone she was going hiking.
“Once it got dark and she realized she might have to spend the night, she would have been pretty cold,” McMordie said, noting it was not snowing when the woman started her hike in the afternoon.
The cold temperatures were also killing the battery on the woman’s cellphone.
“The battery died very quickly. We got a text to her and got her to put the phone inside her coat, close to her body and get it warmed up. That gave us a couple extra minutes of time that we could text her,” McMordie said. “We were able to get a good latitude and longitude after that time so we knew where she was and where to send out crews.”
The hiker stayed in one place, with helped rescuers reach her near Donut Rock. The woman wasn’t hurt, She and her dog were walked back to safety around midnight.
The rescue marks the first winter rescue this season for North Shore Rescue, with all three ski hills getting fresh snow Sunday night.
North Shore Rescue is now reminding hikers and others heading into the backcountry to be prepared for winter conditions.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Jordan Jiang
