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SAR team rescues lost hiker on Golden Ears

Woman lost the trail during descent, got helicopter extraction
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Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue team members used rope and harness to get the lost hiker to a place where she could safely be extracted by helicopter. (Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue)

Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue found a hiker lost in Golden Ears Provincial Park on Sunday.

The hiker had summitted Golden Ears, making the hike in a good time of about four and a half hours. But she got well off route while descending, said team manager Rick Laing.

“She was very fit, but she wasn’t quite as prepared as she thought she was,” he said. “But she stayed put, and she was able to get a call out for help.”

She was fortunate to have a cell phone signal in the park, and called at about 1:30 p.m. With the assistance of Talon Helicopters, the hiker was located in a steep drainage of the North Alouette Gulley. A rescue team was inserted just below the subject’s location, and assisted the hiker down to a safe extraction point, using a rope and harness.

“It was steep enough that if she had fallen, there would have been serious consequences,” said Laing.

She was extracted by helicopter at about 5 p.m.

Laing said it should be a reminder to everyone to use extra caution when traveling in the alpine. Trails are less defined and it is easier to get off route. Always carry a map, along with the other 10 essentials.


 


ncorbett@mapleridgenews.com

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Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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