North Shore Rescue stresses to be prepared for winter weather after two rescues
Posted October 26, 2023 5:58 pm.
North Shore Rescue (NSR) is asking hikers to plan ahead and prepare when heading out for a snowy trek through the mountains or backcountry.
It comes as NSR General Manager Dave Barnett says rescue teams were called out to Grouse Mountain on Wednesday night after a hiker’s cell phone battery died and he didn’t have a flashlight on him.
“The hiker’s brother received some texts from this lost man as it was getting dark that he was in snow and lost but might be able to make it to a road,” he said. “He wasn’t able to tell his brother exactly where he was, so he was extremely lucky … this was a massive search area and it could have taken days to find the guy if he had not been able to get out and find the road.”
“He was not prepared for the weather at all. He had poor clothing, no light, footwear that wasn’t adequate, was snow on the ground, and he really didn’t understand the conditions.”
NSR teams didn’t have much downtime after their trip up Grouse Mountain, as a Thursday morning call brought them up to Mount Seymour in search of a camper who woke up feeling weak and dehydrated.
Luckily for the camper, hikers in the area helped the camper pack up their things and start making their way down the mountain.
Although these two incidents ended up going well, Barnett stresses the importance of remembering the fact that conditions can change at a rapid pace at high mountain elevations and the light can disappear fast this time of year.
If you’re up in the mountains, Barnett says you should bring proper gear and footwear, food and water, a working flashlight, a charged cell phone, and a map.
