They say they were lucky to come out alive.
Four friends from North Vancouver were camping in the Squamish Valley during torrential rain on Sunday morning, Sept. 20, when they awoke at 4:30 a.m.
To their shock, the water had risen so high overnight that the river was breaching the banks. Chrystal Hallman yelled to the other three, “Everyone get up. We’ve got to get out of here.”
They quickly threw everything into their two cars, leaving a few tarps behind, and drove about 15 kilometres down the Forest Service Road until they arrived at a flooded area.
“The car started filling up with water,” recalled Michelle Fraser, who was in Hallman's car.
“It was terrifying,” said Hallman. “It was so fast that we had no time to reverse… it was seconds, and the water was so high.”
The river had spun around the car driven by their friends, Daniel Griffiths and Aaren Garbert, who abandoned their vehicle. In the women’s car, “the water was coming over the seats; our laps had water,” said Fraser.
The women grabbed their blankets and purses, got out of the car, and the group waded through the chilly, glacial water of the Squamish River to get to higher ground.
“As far as we could see, there was water, and we knew there was no way we were getting through this water safely,” Fraser said.
“We were freezing and wet,” said Hallman.
Fraser and Garbert, her boyfriend, tried to return to the cars to get more things that might help them stay dry, but as they crept along a ledge, grabbing onto trees, their feet slipped and they both ended up swept by the current into the freezing water.
“It just sent us sailing down,” recalled Fraser. “My hair was getting wet, and I started screaming… we grabbed the wheel well of Dan’s car and got onto the car.... Meanwhile, there are logs and trees that are full-sized old trees sailing past us.”
The pair locked arms and made it back to the riverbank as a truck approached. “I’ve never been so happy to see somebody in my entire life,” she said.
Six young men, all from the Lower Mainland, were in the truck and had chainsaws, axes, tarps, food and firewood. They started a fire so everyone could warm up.
Squamish Search and Rescue landed a helicopter nearby and brought a care package of sleeping bags, clothes, blankets and a small shelter, then went to rescue another group deemed to be in greater distress higher up the valley.
Fraser admits her group was disappointed.
“We were still pretty cold and needed to get out of there. The people who found us kept us alive.”
The friends made it through the night, comforting each other despite hearing wolves and seeing a bear.
By Monday morning, the water level had dropped drastically and the group got out safely, thanks to the young men. Hallman and Garbert’s cars would not start and are likely both write-offs due to the electrical damage and the destruction from the water and mud, although as of this week, they said they did not have the official word from ICBC.
“We were lucky to walk away with our lives,” said Fraser.
Despite the harrowing experience, both women say they will camp in the Squamish Valley again – eventually.
“We are now hotel and hot tub people,” laughed Fraser, before noting they plan to replace their camping gear and visit again.
“It’s so beautiful up there,” said Hallman, referring to Squamish’s woodland.
