UPDATED – A team effort aided by technology resulted in the precarious rescue of an injured hiker from an ice face near Centre Lakes last week. One of the rescuers was Powell River Search and Rescue (SAR) society president Laurence Edwards.
At approximately 5:45 pm on Sunday, July 29, members of Powell River RCMP were contacted by a Texas-based company called SPOT, who reported that one of its customers’ emergency distress beacons had been activated earlier in the hour.
By 6 pm, Edwards had received a phone call from police and was on his way to Powell River airport to board the RCMP’s Comox-based Air 8 helicopter. From there, he and a member of the local detachment flew toward the South Powell Divide to locate the person in distress.
Just after 7:20 pm, Edwards was dropped off 5,300 feet above sea level on top of an icy slope. There he made contact with two hikers, one of whom was injured; a 47-year-old woman from North Vancouver had fallen several feet into a moat, suffering a head injury that required medical treatment.
Edwards remained with the hikers, a husband and wife who were both experienced mountaineers, while the chopper circled back to pick up additional support and formulate an extraction plan with SAR manager Don McLeod.
At approximately 8:15 pm, the chopper returned with some additional equipment and personnel, including Andy Perkonig, a medically-trained member of the SAR team. As the aircraft hovered over the rocks, the woman was loaded on board by the RCMP officer and SAR technicians and flew fully-loaded back to Powell River at around 8:45 pm. BC Ambulance Paramedics then transported her from the airport to Powell River General Hospital.
By this time, darkness had begun to set in and risk was deemed too high to return for the retrieval of her husband, Edwards and Perkonig. In no immediate danger themselves and with overnight bags delivered, the three remained on the mountainside until roughly 7:30 am the following morning. They were then extracted by Campbell River Search and Rescue.
Edwards said he couldn’t stress enough how valuable the SPOT locator was in providing SAR personnel with a ballpark location.
“These were very well equipped people,” he said. “The [husband had] 30 years’ experience. He’s a member of the BC Mountaineers Association, so very experienced, but an accident can happen to anybody. They had the SPOT which was so instrumental in getting them out. As it happened, she didn’t have serious head trauma, but if she had done, and it took us a long time to find them...it could have had serious implications.”
While not considered life-threatening, the woman’s injuries were still extensive enough to prevent her from leaving the wilderness on her own accord. Edwards said he believed she caught one of her boot crampons on the leg of her over pants and then simply lost her footing and slid down an icy embankment.
“She just kicked one foot away from the other and on the snow field she went,” he said. “She tried to self-rescue with her ice axe and that failed. I think she must have hit something and then ended up 12 feet down in the moat.”
Several city media outlets erroneously reported a falling distance of over 100 feet.
During the fall, the woman suffered a laceration to the back of her head. “She needed, I think, eight stitches,” said Edwards, “but she was coherent; her vision wasn’t blurred or anything like that.
“She’s actually a nurse, a very experienced nurse, which obviously helps in that situation,” he continued. “Her husband had bandaged her up, I merely checked that and made sure she was warm because there was probably a bit of shock there. I would imagine with a cut like that and the way she had hit, that she’d have a very mild concussion.”
Late last week, the woman was released from hospital and will continue her recovery at home. At the end of the day, this close call had a happy ending. She and her husband will live to hike again, undoubtedly with a whole new appreciation for devices like the SPOT locator.
“The only drawback is they’re not a suit of armour,” said Edwards. “You still need to be very sensible in where you go and what you do, and tell people where you expect to be or where you expect to end up.
“The guy said to me ‘I’ve been in the mountains for 30 years and I’ve never had an even remote close call.’ Then, all of a sudden he had this, but he was equipped to deal with it which is the point.
“It’s a $100 device, roughly. It could be so instrumental in saving your life.”
Precarious rescue on South Powell Divide
Search and rescue involved in extraction of injured hiker
Members of Powell River Search and Rescue (SAR), a member of Powell River RCMP and the RCMP's Air 8 helicopter rescued an injured woman from an ice face near Centre Lakes on Sunday, July 29.
At approximately 5:45 pm, members of the Powell River RCMP were contacted by a Texas-based company called SPOT, reporting that one of its customers’ emergency distress beacon had been activated.
The call centre provided coordinates for a location near Centre Lakes, which is located north east of Powell River.
The RCMP's Comox-based Air 8 helicopter picked up a member of the SAR team, and a member from the RCMP detachment, and headed for Centre Lakes. Using the GPS coordinates provided by the beacon, crew aboard Air 8 located two hikers sitting atop an icy slope, 5,300 feet above sea level, at approximately 7:15 pm.
Ten minutes later, the SAR member was dropped off on the ice face, making contact with the hikers. It was determined that one of the hikers had suffered a head injury during a fall and required medical treatment. The SAR member remained with the hikers while Air 8 returned to collect additional support, and devise an extraction plan with the SAR team.
At approximately 8:15 pm, Air 8 returned to the location with additional resources, including a medically trained SAR member. The RCMP pilot held the helicopter over the rocks while an RCMP officer and SAR member loaded the injured hiker into the helicopter. Due to the icy face and terrain, a landing was not possible. At 8:45 pm, the fully loaded Air 8 departed from the rescue scene.
“The skill of our pilot, the Search and Rescue technician, and our Powell River officer were instrumental in safely removing this woman from a very dangerous, potentially life-threatening situation,” said Corporal Darren Lagan of the Vancouver Island RCMP. “Her use of an emergency beacon allowed us to quickly locate her, and take action to get her to the medical treatment she needed.”
The injured hiker, a 47-year-old woman, was flown to Powell River airport by Air 8, where she was met by waiting BC Ambulance Paramedics for transport to Powell River General Hospital. Her injuries are reported to be non-life-threatening.
The two SAR members were left on the mountainside overnight with the second hiker. The trio were removed from the mountainside by commercial helicopter the following morning. This decision was based on the risk involved in extraction under these circumstances, where no immediate danger existed.
Both hikers are from the North Vancouver area.
More on this story to come...
