Briefs from Squamish Search and Rescue:
Hiking the Stawamus Chief proved deadly for a 43-year-old West Vancouver woman on Saturday (Aug. 20).
Search and Rescue (SAR) manager John Howe said the woman was on the third peak when she started having difficulty at about 1:45 p.m.
The hiker suffered a heart attack. A SAR initial response team and two BCAS paramedics were flown to the summit of the third peak.
They hiked down to the woman, who was in full cardiac arrest when they reached her. The woman's hiking companions were performing chest compressions when the team arrived, Howe said.
A third Paramedic arrived on the scene by helicopter long line, but resuscitation efforts were stopped. The unresponsive woman was then long lined from the scene and flown to the gravel pit south of the Stawamus Chief and turned over to the B.C. Ambulance Service.
The rescue team also included helpers from Whistler and Squamish Fire Rescue.
The RCMP identified the West Vancouver hiker as Susan Emerson.
Hiker, kayak injuries prove minor
It was a Sea to Sky day on Sunday (Aug. 21) for SAR personnel when an injured hiker on the first peak of the Stawamus Chief became second priority when SAR members were asked to help two kayakers at the mouth of the Squamish River.
The 45-year-old female on the first peak slipped just below one of the ladders and she injured her ankle.
Howe said her injuries were such that she needed to be put on a stretcher and flown off the mountain to Squamish Hospital.
The two kayakers were ejected from their boat when it flipped over. The swift water rescue team responded in the SAR jet boat, but Howe said both kayakers had made it safely to shore on their own and they were uninjured.
Woman walks away from 30-metre fall
Two callouts on Monday, Aug. 8 had the potential to be serious.
A man was reportedly six hours overdue from a hike on Petgill Lake. As SAR members were gathering information, the overdue hiker was located.
The man used a pay phone at Shannon Falls to say he was okay. Howe said the trip took longer than the hiker anticipated.
That evening, a team of Korean climbers called for help after a female climber lost control of her rappel and fell approximately 30 metres.
Howe said she suffered only minor injuries. She walked off the mountain and into a waiting ambulance where she was treated for a non-bleeding head injury. The injured climber spent the night at Squamish hospital and Howe said she was released the next day.
TV commercial shoot turns bad
An actor suffered a broken leg while filming a commercial in the Chance Creek area north of Squamish on Monday (Aug. 22). SAR members were flown to the area to find a 36-year-old male being treated by a first aid attendant.
Howe said the man was riding an ATV at a high rate of speed when he hit a cross ditch, flipped end over end and landed on the ground with the ATV coming down on his leg.
The first aid attendant stabilized the actor on a back-board and administered oxygen.
Howe said the man's leg was obviously broken and the man was in a great deal of pain.
According to Howe, the actor was loaded onto the helicopter and flown directly to Squamish Hospital.
ATV accident victim taken to golf course
In a separate ATV roll over on Aug. 7 in the Ring Creek area a 46-year-old female had to be rescued using a long line.
The woman rolled her ATV off a backcountry road and rolled several metres down a rocky slope.
She suffered broken ribs. Howe said the woman received a double lung transplant two years ago.
The rescuers had trouble locating the woman, as she was five kilometres away from where reports initially placed her.
Members of the Whistler SAR helped with the long line rescue. The Squamish Valley Golf and Country Club closed down the ninth hole on the golf course so the woman could be transferred from the long line to a waiting ambulance.
She was later transported to Vancouver for treatment of her injuries.
Glacier rescue ends busy dayAfter dealing with the heart attack on the Stawamus Chief, SAR members were called to help a man who fell 30 metres down a 40-degree ice slope near Sky Pilot Mountain.
The fallen hiker suffered a dislocated hip, a dislocated shoulder and back injuries. On top of those injuries the man was suffering from hypothermia. His hiking partner called 911.
Howe said an initial response team of three Squamish Mountain Rescue team members was transported by helicopter to Sky Pilot and they located the injured man at an elevation of approximately 1,750 metres just below the ridge line separating the summits of Sky Pilot and Co-Pilot mountains.
The pair was found on a small ice ledge 30 metres from the top of a small glacier.
More Squamish SAR members were dispatched and North Shore Rescue responded with a helicopter from Vancouver so a long line rescue could be conducted.
The injured hiker was taken by long line to Britannia Beach where the B.C. Ambulance Service took over and transported him to Squamish Hospital.
jfrench@squamishchief.com
