The Greater Vancouver area has been hit with sunny days recently, but with cold temperatures, the back country terrain of the North Shore Mountains can still be unforgiving.
Talon Helicopters recently performed three human external transport system (HETS) long-line rescues over three days, all within one mile of each other in a popular hiking area in Crown Mountain, nine miles north of Vancouver.
On Saturday afternoon, Feb. 28, Talon was called to rescue a hiker who had taken a fall and injured his arm near the peak of the mountain. Pilot Kelsey Wheeler hover-exited two members of the North Shore Rescue (NSR) team to assist the hiker. The group, along with three other NSR ground crew, were long-lined out.
On Sunday evening, March 1, Talon was called again to rescue another hiker with an injured leg in the same area. Wheeler and the NSR team were able to long-line the hiker to safety just before nightfall in deteriorating weather.
Pilot Jarrett Lunn launched early Monday morning, March 2, to rescue two stranded climbers only a few hundred feet from where the second rescue took place. Both hikers were long-lined out from the icy steep terrain and although not seriously injured, they had been exposed to freezing temperatures overnight and experienced mild hypothermia.
Read and view more at:
http://bc.ctvnews.ca/two-hikers-saved-in-third-rescue-on-crown-mountain-in-as-many-days-1.2260121