A man caught in an avalanche in the backcountry on Vancouver Island is lucky to be alive after he was spotted by two witnesses.
Around 4 p.m. on Sunday, Campbell River Search and Rescue was notified that a man in his late 40s had been seen partially buried in the backcountry near Mount Cain Ski Resort, an almost two-hour drive from Campbell River. It’s not clear if the man had been skiing or snowboarding.
A group of volunteers with knowledge of Mount Cain jumped on two snowmobiles and headed to the man in the west bowl area.
The volunteers were told the man was in distress, with a leg fracture and signs of hypothermia, said search manager Richard Finch. Given the fading daylight and the man’s location and condition, the rescue had a high level of urgency, he said.
That area of the backcountry was challenging for rescuers, however, due to avalanche conditions. Finch and his team decided it would be beneficial for North Shore Rescue to assist in the rescue.
The volunteers at Mount Cain were able to extract the man and get him to the Mount Cain lodge, where North Shore Rescue responded with a Talon Helicopter.
The cloud conditions were difficult, but the pilot was able to land at the Mount Cain base with the help of night vision goggles, said North Shore Rescue search manager Dave Barnett.
“While we can fly at night very effectively, we can’t fly in heavy cloud cover,” said Barnett, adding there were periods of clear skies “where we could get in and out” through the “great work of the Talon helicopter pilot.”
On the helicopter was an ER physician with advanced medical gear, while an off-duty paramedic assisted at the lodge.
“There were many people involved, assisting to make sure this guy’s leg was saved,” said North Shore Rescue air ops co-ordinator John Blown.
The team took off around 8 p.m. and flew for more than an hour to Vancouver General Hospital’s rooftop helipad — the first time North Shore Rescue has flown a critically injured person directly to the helicopter landing pad at VGH. During other rescues, the teams will do a transfer at a helipad or airport.
North Shore Rescue is only able to do this type of flight in “life or limb” situations, Barnett said.
“It was a tremendous milestone for us,” he said, adding it was the culmination of more than a year of advance preparation with BC Ambulance Service, Talon Helicopters, the search and rescue team and medical practitioners.
Last month, a helicopter was called in to airlift to hospital another skier after a fall in the west bowl area of Mount Cain.
The 35-year-old victim had been skiing outside the boundaries when he fell on a steep slope and was found unconscious. The skier was hoisted into a rescue helicopter and flown to a waiting air ambulance.
Campbell River Search and Rescue is pleading with anyone going into the backcountry to make sure they are avalanche-aware and prepared, and other people know their plan.
Finch said people should be carrying the right equipment and be able to send a signal should they get into trouble.
Avalanche conditions over the weekend were in the “high hazard” zone in many areas of the province. As of Monday, they had dropped to a “considerable danger” rating.
