BURST
Four hikers were rescued Tuesday after spending three nights atop a mountain in Golden Ears Provincial Park in blizzard-like conditions.
Brent Boulet, president of Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue, said the outcome could have been much worse had the men been inexperienced or unprepared.
“No matter what you’re doing, especially if you’re going up the alpine in the winter, it’s even more important (to be prepared),” he said. “Weather can change rapidly and you may not be able to get out.”
The men, all from Coquitlam, had set out to summit Golden Ears at 1,716 metres on Saturday, which started out clear and sunny.
From his home in Maple Ridge, Boulet remembers seeing out his window straight to the mountain peaks.
But as the men prepared to climb down, a sudden storm swept in, causing whiteout conditions.
The hikers managed to trek down from the summit to an emergency shelter on Panorama Ridge — about a kilometre-long descent that would take about an hour or hour-and-a-half in favourable conditions — hunkered down and called for help using Apple SOS.
Ridge Meadows SAR received the call Saturday night, but based on poor weather conditions and an avalanche risk, and given the men had shelter, food and proper gear to stay overnight, crews decided to wait until the next morning to attempt a rescue.
On Sunday morning, a half-dozen SAR volunteers made the first attempt to extract the men.
It was snowing hard up in the alpine. The Talon helicopter made it within a couple hundred metres of the shelter, but visibility was poor and the high avalanche hazard meant it was too dangerous to mount a rescue on foot.
The crew stood by and made a couple more attempts, but had to turn around. On Monday, the weather was worse, and the helicopter didn’t get off the ground.
An update from the stranded group later that evening amped up the urgency.
“They said by Monday night they had run out of food and other supplies,” recalled Boulet. “Now we are starting to feel the pressure of getting them out as soon as possible.”
On Tuesday, a crew of three rescuers from Ridge Meadows and Coquitlam SAR staged at Pitt Meadows airport. Spotting a brief break in the weather, they moved quickly to mount a rescue.
“At around 1 p.m., we were able to fly in at the shelter, pick up the four hikers and fly them out,” said Boulet.
The men were tired and hungry, but were in good shape, he said. They were taken to Pitt Meadows airport where family members anxiously waited.
Boulet said the men were prepared to stay overnight and were dressed for the weather. The fact that they were able to get to the emergency shelter, a compact A-frame hut maintained by B.C. Parks that had a cache of food and supplies, was likely also a factor in their survival.
Boulet advised anyone going into the backcountry in any weather conditions that they should carry essential gear , including a flashlight, fire-making kit, extra food and water, and extra clothing.
He also advised backcountry-users to check avalanche conditions before venturing into the highcountry.
“This time of year, it’s not just a hike, it’s a mountaineering objective,” he said. “It’s not a casual hike. Anyone going up in the alpine of Golden Ears need to have that experience.”