In the early hours of Wednesday, a daring rescue mission unfolded on Grouse Mountain as the North Shore Rescue (NSR) team sprang into action to save an injured hiker.
According to a statement shared on their Facebook page, the hiker found themselves stranded in treacherous terrain, located northwest of the Grouse Tram. The darkness of night and the rugged landscape posed significant challenges for the NSR’s ground and air teams in pinpointing the hiker’s precise location.
After a meticulous search, the helicopter crew managed to spot the hiker, guided by the faint glow emanating from the person’s watch. However, the inaccessible terrain meant that the ground team couldn’t reach the hiker directly. To overcome this obstacle, two skilled hoist technicians were lowered from the helicopter to assist in the rescue operation.
Despite facing complications due to the steep terrain and dense vegetation, the technicians persevered. One technician descended around 150 feet to reach the stranded hiker, who had fallen and come to rest on a precarious ledge supported by a tree. The situation was dire, as below the ledge lay a sheer 100-foot vertical drop that could have resulted in severe injury or worse.
Thankfully, the NSR teams’ swift and coordinated efforts paid off, culminating in the successful rescue of the hiker. The operation concluded by 3 a.m., with the hiker safe and sound, spared from a potentially tragic outcome.