After another busy week plucking people from the backcountry, North Shore Rescue is now reminding backcountry enthusiasts that as summer comes to a close, darkness can creep up on the unwary.
Such was the case Thursday when three women in their mid-20s were stranded on the treacherous Suicide Bluffs trail on Mount Seymour after nightfall.
The trio’s intention was to hike Dog Mountain but they became disoriented in the dark on their way back down and found themselves on Suicide Bluffs, an area with massive cliffs and complex terrain.
“Oh man, Suicide Bluffs has three (hundred) to 400-foot cliff bands — so significant,” said NSR team leader Mike Danks, of steep drop-offs that can be missed in the dark.
The women were found around 11 p.m. by NSR members and walked back down the mountain. While applauding them for staying put,
Danks said the women started their hike a little late in the evening for the time of year.
With sunset coming shortly before 8 p.m. by the end of next week, Danks said now more than ever hikers should be prepared and most importantly don’t be embarrassed to give them a call if they get into trouble.
“They will be thrashing around in the bush trying to make their way out — and they will get hurt,” said Danks, explaining what sometimes happens when lost hikers let their pride get in the way.
NSR always advises people to carry 10 essentials anytime they are going into the backcountry: a light, a signalling device (whistle or flare), something to start a fire, extra clothes, a pocket knife, shelter, food and water, a first-aid kit, navigation tools including a map, compass and GPS, as well as a cellphone or radio to call for help.
“I think we need to stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about others,” said Danks of how people should carry extra essentials for fellow backcountry adventurers that might need help.
NSR was called out Thursday morning to an area near the “Widow Maker” ridge on Crown Mountain after some experienced climbers were reported overdue. The couple — both 55 years old — bit off more than they could chew, said Danks, of their plan to traverse Hanes Valley, climb the Widow Maker and make their way towards Grouse Mountain on Wednesday.
The two hunkered down for the night and walked out of Lynn Headwaters Regional Park on their own Thursday around noon.
A 73-year-old Delta man, meanwhile, spent a cold night in the bush atop Mount Seymour on Aug. 14. The man’s son called authorities after receiving a text message from his father saying he was lost.
The socked-in conditions didn’t allow for NSR to deploy crews overnight into the De Pencier area, where the senior was stranded. The next morning around 10 a.m. a NSR foot team found the man, who was hypothermic and hungry but otherwise fine.
— with files from Brent Richter
