Hikers rescued from closed trail on North Shore, team says

North Shore Rescue crews hiked over the front of Grouse Mountain to reach the stranded party. (Facebook/North Shore Rescue)

Rescue crews were called to the backcountry north of Grouse Mountain Friday night to help multiple hikers in distress.

North Shore Rescue posted about the incident on social media around 8 p.m., saying its team had been called to "the Hanes Valley/Goat Mountain area."

More than eight hours later, around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, the team posted that it had "successfully assisted the hikers out of the field."

"The hikers were stuck in the snow below Goat Ridge in Crown Pass, after hiking The Hanes Valley trail from Lynn Headwaters," North Shore Rescue said in a Facebook post.

"This area is currently closed due to winter conditions."

Search manager Dale Weidman told CTV News the three hikers in the party saw the signs indicating the trail was closed, but decided to hike it anyway.

When they encountered deeper snow than they had expected, they called for help, Weidman said.

He said North Shore Rescue crews hiked over the front of Grouse Mountain to reach the stranded party, who were "thankful and apologetic."

"They recognize they made a mistake," Weidman said.

No one was injured, and the rescue was "straightforward," the search manager added.