From the looks of it, Squamish Search and Rescue members believe the fall could’ve been from up to 60 feet.
After word spread late yesterday afternoon that a climber had plunged down from The Buttress at the Stawamus Chief, the province’s emergency health services contacted Squamish Search and Rescue to help locate the injured man.
Landon James, a manager with the search and rescue team, or SAR, said that a helicopter crew rushed to the scene, where they found the climber “significantly injured” but still awake and conscious.
The man appeared capable of responding to communication in a coherent manner, which was a positive sign, suggesting he wasn’t in immediate danger of dying, James said.
This allowed rescuers to take a little more time to slow the operation down and make sure things were done extra carefully.
“He was able to follow commands and knew where he was, what day it was – that kind of thing,” James said. “Our minds calm down a lot when we hear they’re awake and talking.”
Two rescuers placed the climber on a stretcher and tethered it to the SAR helicopter, which carried him out with a long line underneath the aircraft.
“He basically got immobilized, packaged really quickly and flown back to the air ambulance that was waiting for him,” James said.
The air ambulance then lifted him off to a hospital.
James said there was another person on-scene who appeared to have been the patient’s climbing partner.
The pair appeared to be experienced and properly equipped, he added.
“They were well prepared,” he said.
James said he was told an equipment failure may have been responsible for the fall, though there weren’t any other details he could share.
“To fall that far – something went wrong,” he noted.
As of now, the man’s current condition is unknown, as BC Emergency Health Services does not have details on patients once they are admitted to hospital.
***Please note the photo caption has been clarified to state the helicopter in the picture is from a news station
