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“He was sort of face-down in the creek in lots of snow.”
An American tourist was airlifted from a popular hiking trail on the North Shore Thursday evening after a snow bridge collapse left the 26-year-old with serious injuries. CTV New Vancouver reports the man was hiking with his brother on the Howe Sound Crest Trail near Cypress Bowl when a snow bridge collapsed, burying one of them.
“They were just in an ice-melt area in a snow and ice cave and that snow collapsed on one of the gentleman.” –Asst. Chief Martin Leduc of West Van Fire.
The unburied brother worked for minutes to uncover his brother and called 911. Crews worked to stabilize the patient and performed a long-line rescue to get the hiker to safety at a landing spot near Cleveland Dam. The victim remained conscious and suffered at least a fractured leg.
Jeff Yarnold of North Shore Rescue had this to say about the dangers of the area during this time of year:
“There are pockets of snow right now that have melted out from the creeks underneath and people are walking on those, or they are sitting under them, and they look appealing but they’re really dangerous.”
This warning applies not only to the North Shore of Vancouver but to any alpine area that has pockets of snow deep into the the summer months. Be care out there and use your common sense.