A 30-kilometre stroll through the North Shore backcountry turned dangerous Wednesday afternoon when a hiker needed to be rappelled out of a gorge by North Shore Rescue.
The hiker, a San Diego woman in her mid-20s, was attempting to trek from Cypress Mountain to Deeks Lake when she lost the trail in the snow.
“She was not prepared for snow at all,” said North Shore Rescue team leader Mike Danks.
With no GPS and limited knowledge of the Howe Sound Crest Trail, the lost hiker sought safety by sliding down a cliff face.
“She actually wore her pants out on the left side,” Danks noted.
After making it down the cliff near the summit of St. Mark’s peak, the hiker was stuck, according to Danks.
“She couldn’t go down, up, or to the side.”
With no provisions to get her through the night except a can of Chunky soup, she used her dwindling cellphone power to call the West Vancouver Police Department.
Knowing the hiker’s battery power was down to eight per cent, North Shore Rescue scrambled a helicopter.
During a quick reconnaissance flight, rescue team volunteers spotted the stranded tourist, who looked “like a speck on this cliff,” Danks said.
Strapped to 200 feet of long line, rescuers gingerly climbed over cliff bands and between waterfalls to reach the hiker.
The rescue was complicated by the uncertainty of the terrain, Danks said, explaining a misstep could send rocks hurtling at the hiker.
The outdoor enthusiast was in “relatively good condition” when crews reached her two hours before sunset. Had it been later, she might have been in trouble, according to Danks.
“It would have been really challenging to find her,” he said, explaining the gorge is an unusual spot to find a lost hiker.
“She got really lucky,” he said. “This was a real eye-opener for her.”
North Shore Rescue reminds hikers to pack extra clothes, a fire starter and a shelter when hiking in the backcountry.
