A 67-year-old man collapsed and died Saturday afternoon on the Al's Habrich Trail, a backcountry trail at the Sea to Sky Gondola, according to Squamish Search and Rescue.
The man had a medical condition and suffered cardiac arrest, said B.J. Chute, vice-president of Squamish SAR.
Hikers on the trail and, later, SAR members attempted to resuscitate him, and he was transferred to Squamish General Hospital where he was pronounced dead, Chute said.
Aga Karst of Langley and a friend were hiking along the trail when they stumbled upon the collapsed man.
“Being trained in First Aid and CPR, when I realized he stopped breathing I immediately began performing CPR to the best of my ability, while calling 911 at the same time,” Karst said in an email to The Squamish Chief.
Karst said the operator helped guide them through what to do in the hour before Search and Rescue arrived.
“I am very impressed with the professionalism of everyone involved – the 911 operator who was on the line with us, the lady who ran from the Squamish gondola with an AED machine, and the Squamish helicopter search and rescue who found us deep in the woods, as well as all other hikers who stopped by and immediately began helping,” Karst said.
“This event will always stay with me. Although it had a tragic ending, all of us involved know that we did everything humanly possible to save life, and hopefully we brought small measure of comfort to friends and family of the deceased.”
Chute said he wanted to thank the citizens who helped and said it underlies the importance of being trained in CPR.
