A 19-year-old UBC student managed to survive a 30-metre fall down a sheer cliff face Saturday night without suffering any injuries.
“It is amazing,” says UBC RCMP Sgt. Drew Grainger, who said branches and soft ground helped break his fall.
“He was a little disoriented, he was on an illegal trail system. He just became disoriented in low light conditions, and then he fell down an embankment.”
Grainger said the man, whose name has not been released by police, was wandering in an unmarked area between Monument and Trail 7 when he fell. He was able to phone 911 on his cell phone around 6:30 p.m. and RCMP and Vancouver Fire Department employed a high-angle search and rescue team to pull him out on a stretcher around 10:30 p.m.
Several people fall down the cliffs separating the University Endowment Lands and Wreck Beach every year, and RCMP advise people to avoid walking outside marked trails.
“These trails are illegal for a reason,” said Grainger. “It’s extremely hazardous. We’re in the spring season right now, the trails are very wet, they’re very muddy…this is a very dangerous area to be in.”
Grainger said that the file has been turned over to the Metro Vancouver Park Board, but it’s “highly unlikely” the man will be charged.
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