A series of dramatic rescues on Vancouver's North Shore mountains capped off a Family Day long weekend fraught with accidents in B.C.'s backcountry.
Volunteers with North Shore Rescue were busy Monday afternoon as they performed back-to-back rescues on Mount Seymour and in Cypress Provincial Park.
"Conditions are icy with the cold temperatures. We think that’s what led to some callouts today," said search manager Simon Jackson.
NSR volunteers first responded to Mount Seymour for a man in his 50s with injuries to his ribs, knee and ankle. He was hiking with crampons between Tim Jones peak and the third pump when he slid about 50 feet and hit a tree.
A helicopter dropped team members, including a doctor, between the first and second pumps and they snowshoed in to find him. Jackson said the man is stable.
While that team waited to bring the man out, the helicopter continued to Cypress for two more rescues. A man in his 50s who was out snowshoeing suffered a dislocated shoulder near the Bowen Lookout.
NSR members first wrapped him in a silver emergency blanket and then longlined him out from between the trees to the Cypress parking lot. From there, they loaded him into a waiting ambulance.
A woman showshoeing on Hollyburn Mountain also needed help. Rescuers flew a helicopter directly to her and loaded her in.
Back on Mount Seymour, the man who slid was longlined out to Bone Creek where he was loaded into an ambulance.
One showshoer in 50s already longlined off Bowen Lookout with a dislocated shoulder. Another on Hollyburn. @NSRescue says Man in 50s who fell on Seymour in stable condition though with injuries to ribs and leg. Chopper taking off to get him now... pic.twitter.com/gh6Y6lHfND
— David Molko (@molkoreports) February 12, 2018
A total of 25 NSR members and two helicopters members assisted with search and rescue efforts.
Earlier in the day, firefighters handled another distress call on Quarry Rock.
Officials reminded backcountry enthusiasts that warmer temperatures followed by cooler temperatures can create icy conditions that make snowshoe crampons less effective.
"It's very busy today, people hiking and snowshoeing," Jackson said. "When it is icy people should be using crampons and ice axe and have the skill set to know how to use that."
Awaiting more details -- but @nsrescue longline effort underway near Cypress on the North Shore. Two rescues underway this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/vMdAcrbkdd
— Sheila Scott (@Sheila_Scott) February 12, 2018
The series of rescues Saturday brought a dramatic end to a long weekend that saw daily rescues needed in B.C.'s backcountry.
On Sunday morning, three teenagers stranded on top of Alouette Mountain in Maple Ridge were retrived by helicopter. They had spent the night in the frigid, snowy alpine conditions.
A 52-year-old man from Nanaimo died on Saturday near Whistler when a snow cornice he had stopped on with his snowmobile collapsed.
On Friday, another snowmobiler was airlifted to hospital in Calgary after an avalanche near Golden.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's David Molko, Nafeesa Karim and Sarah MacDonald
