Lions Bay recently underwent a massive rescue on Mt. Unnecessary that required 40 people from across the region and lasted almost 24 hours

A Coquitlam woman in her 60s and her adult son were on the second day of atwo-day excursion from Cypress Bowl when the mishap occurred. The pair werewell equipped making the rescue easier since their basic needs of warmth andshelter did not have to be taken care of by the rescuers.  The pair were making their way down whatthey believed was the Lions trail, but was in fact the Unnecessary Mountaintrail above Lions Bay. At about 5 p.m. the woman tripped on a root and reportedhearing a loud snapping sound in her foot, after which it could not bearweight. Her son called 9-1-1, and the message was passed to Lions Bay Searchand Rescue.

Initially it was hoped that at least the injured woman could be extracted byhelicopter.  At first Talon Helicopters,the local company supplying air rescue services to Greater Vancouver SAR teamswas called, but due to diminishing light and the air regulations Talon isobliged to operating under they could not be utilised.

 

 

Teams had already started being deployed into the field in the event thatthe subject would have to be carried down. They carried a full litter with awheel and over 100 meters of rope to negotiate the steep descent. All the whilethe teams were proceeding up the Lions trail to where the subjects wereexpected to be. After a few hours of hiking and some time spent looking at thelocation where the teams anticipated finding the two, it was discovered thatthey were on the next mountain over. So the teams kept on hiking up and over.It was starting to snow and the wind was picking up.

Meanwhile down at base search manager Martin Colwell was pulling out all thestops to get the subject down before the night was through. The ‘last chance’option for a helicopter rescue that night was with 442 squadron from Comox, themilitary search and rescue. After several assessments of the situation 442squadron deemed that due to low visibility they would not be able to attend tothe subject either.

Martin Colwell knew that it would require a massive mobilization of peopleto bring the litter down by hand. In an operational mode that is know asmutual-aid, 40 volunteers from neighbouring search and rescue teams were pagedin the middle of the night to come help. Volunteers from Squamish SAR, NorthShore Rescue, Ridge Meadows SAR, and Coquitlam SAR all came together for thismassive operation.

The first teams reached the subjects around midnight and found the two to bein good health and warm in their tent and sleeping bags. For the rescuers wholoaded themselves with rescue equipment the night would not pass ascomfortably. A fire was build to keep warm and a few tarps and rescue blanketswere prepared so that the first responders could keep warm until more supporthiked up the Unnecessary mountain trail to the location of the incident.

At 6 am the first of the support teams arrived, among them was Tim Jones, anadvanced life support paramedic who administered drugs to keep the patientcomfortable on the long and bumpy descent that awaited her. The descent to theroad in the village was 1200 meters of elevation change over a gruelling trail.Often the trail is on an incline of 45 degrees and at others points isinterrupted by vertical rock steps of 1 to 2 meters in height, requiring hikersto use their hands.

The teams worked together with great efficiency to move the stretcher down the mountain at an amazing rate. The litter was secured by rope, a single belay rope for most of the descent, although two were required on some of the steeper sections. The descent was slippery with mud and pine needles leading individual stretcher-bearers to regularly slide and fall making for an exceptionally demanding carry. After 7 gruelling hours of descent the subject was in the ambulance and whisked away to emergency. She has undergone surgery and with rehabilitation is expected to regain full mobility.