VANCOUVER -- North Shore Rescue long-lined an injured hiker off of Mount Strachan near Cypress Provincial Park on Saturday evening.
The call initially came in as four people caught in an avalanche, according to a post on North Shore Rescue's Facebook page.
However, upon attending the scene, crews – which included an avalanche specialist -- determined there hadn’t been an avalanche.
“There was a snow slide .. and one person got pushed into a tree and twisted their ankle,” said rescue manager Peter Haigh.
The person who reported the supposed avalanche got it wrong and passed on incorrect information, he said.
“It was unfortunate because we spent a lot of time and effort scrambling and it wasn’t so serious.”
Shortly after 8 p.m., the search and rescue organization said "all subjects and rescuers" were out of the field. One of the people involved in the call had a "suspected leg fracture," according to North Shore Rescue.
“It would be nice to get a realistic report … because we could have done it more efficiently,” Haigh said.
That said, the fact that nobody was seriously hurt was still a win.
“That’s the best way to have it.”
The incident near Cypress came after what had already been a busy day for the volunteer rescue team.
In another Facebook post earlier in the day, North Shore Rescue said it was responding to three simultaneous calls on Mount Seymour.
All three calls were for injured hikers, according to the post.
Correction:
May 30: This story has been updated from a previous version to include new information.
