North Shore Rescue’s busy start to 2020 continued with their fourth call in two days, including two rescue missions on the same stretch of trail.
A Port Moody woman was hiking Dog Mountain trail with a group just after 1 p.m. Thursday when a she fell on a steep section just past First Lake.
“She heard a significant crack in her ankle. Right away, it was non-weight bearing,” said Mike Danks, North Shore Rescue team leader. “Honestly, it's just one of those things that happens.”
Some passersby visiting from the United Kingdom offered the 69-yearold their coats and gloves to help keep her warm while other members of the group rushed back to the parking lot to alert Mt. Seymour ski patrol.
They were the first ones to make contact with the injured woman and get her stabilized while North Shore Rescue members started out.
It was bucketing rain at sea level at that time but snow was coming down heavy in the mountains. Danks called a helicopter to help get the woman out quickly.
Conditions weren’t optimal, Danks said, but Talon employs skilled pilots who were able to touch down near First Lake.
“It's definitely snowshoe weather. I mean, it was a pretty significant storm that had blown in and I think there was about six inches of fresh know at that time on top of a hard crust,” he said.
Rescue volunteers crowded around the injured hiker to shelter her from the helicopter’s rotor wash, which kicked up a tornado of snow. It took less than 90 seconds before the patient was packaged and they were on their way to the Bone Creek SAR station where an ambulance was waiting, Danks said.
As rescue subjects go, the woman was “tough as nails” and popular among the members, Danks said.
“She was a real character. She wouldn't stop talking. She was very happy. We had all these nice warm jackets on her and we made her hot chocolate and she's just making jokes and having fun and really enjoying the attention. Meanwhile, she's in a lot of pain,” he said. “You know, those are the type of people that we love to rescue because it makes it an overall great experience.”
Before sending her off in the ambulance, the team gave the woman a toque made for the team by a local senior who regularly donates the hats she knits.
“You should have seen the smile on the face as we gave her this nice toque and told her it was handmade by a generous donor,” he said.
Big thanks are owed to the ski patrol members, Danks said, who have been increasingly helpful in rescue calls near the North Shore’s ski resorts.
