Squamish ultra-runner Kenzie Wade had to be rescued from a trail she was working on along the northern part of Vancouver Island after her hand was sucked into a cable-car pulley.
“It was pretty gruesome. I thought I was going to lose my finger and there was blood everywhere,” she says.
A water taxi came to the rescue and, luckily, her finger was left with only a large scar.
“I had eight stitches – six outside, two inside on the very end of my ring finger,” she says.
Wade is running a 100-kilometre race in Spring Valley, Arizona in February and is using the opportunity to hold an online fundraiser for Squamish Search & Rescue.
“It made sense because, as a trail runner, I am constantly utilizing the trail systems and backcountry around our area and it is nice knowing we have these amazing volunteers on standby just in case something happens,” she says. “Alongside trail running, I also am a climber and skier. I spend a lot of time in scenarios that could see me needing a rescue... I hope not, but sometimes our luck runs out, I guess.”
Wade, who is a massage therapy student, will be travelling to Arizona with her mother and a friend to compete in the Black Canyon 100, a point-to-point race.
“Another reason I chose Squamish SAR is that I wanted to volunteer a while back, but my schedule with school is a bit too demanding for me to donate my time, so this will be a way to give back before I can commit to joining in the future,” she says.
Squamish Search and Rescue volunteers rely on donations from the government, corporations and individual donors.
To support Wade’s fundraiser go to www.canadahelps.org/en/fundraise.
