North Shore Rescue deals with pair of calls to start weekend

It was already a busy start to the weekend for search and rescue crews on the North Shore, with a pair of calls Friday afternoon.

North Shore Rescue said just after 4 p.m. that it was responding to “two simultaneous medical rescues.”

The first came in about a 29-year-old woman who was hiking to Dog Mountain and stumbled on a stair.

“She heard a popping sound in her ankle and was unable to weight-bear and continue on,” explained NSR Search Manager Stan Sovdat.

He says crews were able to get a hold of the woman by phone and track down her location. A team was set up, as was a helicopter.

“We were able to drop that crew off from Mt. Seymour to Dog Mountain. They hiked to her location and were able to do further assessments with her,” Sovdat said, adding crews eventually long-lined the woman out to safety by helicopter.

The other call came from Bowen Island, where Sovdat says a man on a swing on a lake fell about 10 feet onto some rocks.

The man suffered injuries to his leg.

“It was difficult to get contact — they had no cellphone. His colleague swam back across to the other side of the lake and managed to get a cellphone and swim it back to his location, where she was able to call for help,” Sovdat told CityNews.

The man was connected with an emergency room doctor by phone to determine the severity of his injuries. Sovdat says despite his situation, the man was determined to swim back across the leg.

“But that didn’t seem like the smartest thing, considering his leg injury. We were contemplating doing a long-line rescue from a helicopter as well with this gentleman, but he was really, really opposed to it — he didn’t think he was injured enough. So I contacted the Bowen Fire Department and Bowen Fire were easily able to access him on a dirt road with an ATV,” he said.

The calls came at the start of what is expected to be another hot and sunny weekend.

Sovdat is reminding anyone planning to head into the mountains to ensure they are prepared before they leave home.

That includings letting someone know where you’re going and when you expect to be back, sticking to that plan, bringing all the gear you need — water, food, extra clothing, wearing appropriate attire and footwear, and having navigation equipment and a cellphone. If you plan to be in an area without service, a satellite device is recommended.