‘Most dangerous time of the year’: Lions Bay SAR called to 5 incidents in a week

Lions Bay Search and Rescue, with the help of North Shore Rescue, extracted an injured 17-year-old hiker from the West Lion trail on Saturday, May 9. (Courtesy: Lions Bay Search and Rescue)

Search and rescue volunteers in Lions Bay, B.C., have responded to five calls for help in the past week, and the incidents are being attributed to hikers wearing improper footwear, not carrying enough water, and spring conditions.

“Usually the most dangerous time of the year is the transition season,” search manager Maria Masiar told CTV News.

While it may feel like summer in the city, winter conditions still remain in the alpine, and hikers should be prepared for a shift between warm weather and snow on a single trail, she explained.

The team’s most recent rescue was on the West Lion on Saturday, after a teenager jumped off a five-foot rock and suffered a severe sprain.

Masiar said the hiker and his friend were getting hot on the way back from the lookout and were looking for water.

“They found some water, and this young fellow who was 17 decided to jump down towards it,” she said. “Obviously he landed wrong, and his ankle basically popped in and out.”

Lions Bay Search and Rescue called their neighbours at North Shore Rescue to bring in a helicopter as the teen was four kilometres up the trail and carrying him in a stretcher that far would be “pretty gruesome,” Masiar continued.

A ground team hiked to the boy to asses him and package him into a stretcher, and the helicopter brought him to the Lions Bay School field, where he was picked up by an ambulance and brought to hospital.

Notably, neither of the teens had cellphones and a “very prepared and bright”11-year-old who was biking in the area was the one who called for help, Masiar added.

Two of the week’s rescues were on the West Lion, two at Tunnel Bluffs and one on Mount Harvey.

Three of the calls, including Saturday’s, involved injuries exacerbated by improper footwear, according to the organization. Masiar said people are wearing trail runners with no ankle support, so if they step on a root wrong or jump and don’t land correctly it can lead to dire consequences.

“You’re basically facing kind of a non-weight bearing injury, and it’s very, very difficult to get out,” she said. “Even though you may be on the trail, it’s kilometres to get back to the start, and so those kind of end your day very quickly.”

In one incident, two hikers attempted to do the Howe Sound Crest Trail wearing shorts and running shoes, and got stranded in the snow.

Read more: Hikers wearing shorts and running shoes rescued from North Shore alpine trail

Another theme is dehydration, Masiar said, giving an example of a man on Mount Harvey who ran out of water. In the process of trying to retrieve some from a creek, his backpack rolled away and in an attempt to chase it he got stuck on a cliff.

“As we’re getting into these much hotter temperatures than is normal for this time of year, what we’re seeing is people trying to get access to water, and it’s dangerous around the gullies and the water features,” she said.

“If you are going to approach them you have to do so with extreme caution. And really before you ever do that, you should be thinking that you probably need more water than you think to start the trail.”

Lions Bay Search and Rescue recommends hikers check conditions using a resource like AllTrails and visit Aventure Smart for information on trip planning and equipment.