North Shore Rescue members were called to the same steep cliff four times over the weekend where skiers were slipping and sustaining serious injuries.
While spring conditions are setting in, the north face of backcountry mountains remain extremely icy, the group is warning, particularly the entrance to Christmas Gully on Mount Strachan, just north of the Cypress Mountain resort.
On Saturday afternoon, the team used a helicopter to hoist a woman out of the area after she lost control and struck a tree there.
They were back to the same location Sunday for a series of concurrent calls, starting just after 11 a.m. when a skier fell and stuck his head and broke his femur while attempting to retrieve a friend’s errant ski.
“It was a serious call. It was for a 25-year-old unconscious male,” said search manager Paul Markey.
Less than 30 minutes later, while the team was en route, the injured man’s friend attempted to make his way down and provide assistance. He too fell and likely fractured his ankle when he struck a tree, Markey said.
Two of the team’s medical doctors were there first to be hoisted down to the dangerous spot. Volunteers had to dig away the ice and snow to create a level area for the injured men to be placed on stretchers and pulled back out.
The edge of the cliff is a popular spot for people to stop and take photos, or, in this case, watch the rescuers doing their work, Markey said. Just after 3:15 p.m., one of the observers slipped down the north face and also sustained a likely fracture in his leg.
“These were all within three or four hundred metres of each other on the basically the same slope,” Markey said. “We call these triple-headers. We’ve certainly had three calls going at the same time, but in the same location, no.”
The injuries sustained by the first man to fall on Sunday were so severe, the team was given clearance to fly him directly to Vancouver General Hospital’s helipad.
All of the other subjects were taken to Lions Gate Hospital by BC Ambulance Service paramedics.
In light of the string of mishaps, the team issued a warning about icy conditions on north-facing slopes on Sunday night. Markey said they also received word about numerous snowshoers falling on the slippery surfaces as well.
“At the least, you need microspikes, but in a lot of areas, you need full crampons,” he said.
And, Markey added, the conditions make skiing particularly risky right now.
“If you’re resort skiing, certainly you need to stay in the resort,” he said. “If you’re backcountry skiing and you’re on north-facing slopes, you need the equipment, you need the training, you need to be with a partner, and you need to be fully aware that the north-facing slopes are going to be icy and very, very difficult to ski.…If you fall on those surfaces, you’re going to go a long way.”
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