It’s been another busy weekend for North Shore Rescue, much of it driven by people unprepared for the conditions.
Team Leader Mike Danks says volunteers were called out for two rescues on Sunday.
One involved a woman who became injured near Elsay Lake in the Mount Seymour backcountry who tried to carry her dog out and ended up hurting her back.
The other was for a pair of men on the summit of Crown Mountain, one of whom became dehydrated.
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“In these circumstances we really try get people to walk back out,” Danks said.
“But one of our physicians spoke directly with the subject and his friend, and the advice we’ve been given is that this person does need to be airlifted out, just based on their physical condition and the fact that they’re dehydrated, dizzy.”
Those two calls were on top of another four earlier in the weekend, three of them from people who had pushed their limits.
“We had another exhausted hiker on Grouse, and we had an individual back in the Haynes Valley that set off an SOS device, and he was in a similar situation, he was just absolutely exhausted, and there was another call on Dog Mountain for two women who were in a similar situation,” he said.
With the heat warning in place, Danks said it is crucial that people take care of themselves in the backcountry, and be realistic about what they can actually do.
“You know, they’ve all been based on kind of the same situation,” Danks said.
“Where people are just not bringing enough water, not having enough food, and going above their fitness level. And throw the heat in there and that’s what you get.”
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Earlier this spring, Danks said the team was on track to once again break its record for the number of call-outs.
The team has already responded to 85 calls this year. Danks said that figure is “up from the last couple of years for sure.”
With sizzling temperatures and a long weekend now on the horizon, he said the team is gearing up for yet another spike in calls.
He said it is crucial that adventurers pack enough supplies, stay hydrated, know their limits and tell people where they are going.
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