CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said Thursday’s night call-out was the 140th of 2018, setting a record for North Shore Rescue. In fact, the 140th call-out of the year occurred on Dec. 15.
North Shore Rescue has broken a dubious record after two call-outs in recent days, including what was thought to be a downed plane on Mount Seymour earlier this month and a pair of hikers who had to be rescued Thursday night.
Crews responded to a call after two hikers became stranded in the Grouse-Fromme area of the mountain on Thursday night. A man, woman and two dogs had made it to the bottom of the cut, but ended up in one of the drainages on Mosquito Creek where it’s quite steep in some areas.
NSR crews walked them out around midnight and say the hikers and dogs are all OK.
They were also called out to to Mount Seymour earlier on Dec. 15 when RCMP requested NSR’s help with a report of a downed plane.
WATCH: North Shore Rescue ties all-time record for rescues in 2018
The calls were NSR’s 140th and 141st of the year, surpassing the record of 139 call-outs set in 2015.
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Earlier this month, NSR tied its record after responding to two calls within a span of 24 hours. Both involved subjects with broken legs.
The first call on Dec. 5 involved a 50-year-old woman who required rescuing from the Howe Sound Crest Trail, where she had been hiking with a group of more than a dozen people.
WATCH: (Aired May 22, 2018) North Shore Rescue on track for record year
The second call-out, later that evening, involved a tourist from Texas who broke his femur after falling off a cliff while going off-trail on the challenging Eagle Bluffs hike.
Officials say he fell roughly 20 metres, and was in and out of consciousness when he was discovered by rescuers, just as dusk approached. Rescuers say he was lucky — and his ability to notify search crews of his GPS co-ordinates likely saved his life.
Following the two call-outs, North Shore Rescue reiterated what has become the organization’s annual warning: be prepared if you do venture into the backcountry, and to never go alone.
Its volunteers are reminding hikers that seemingly mild conditions at trailheads can be deceiving — as rain at lower elevations can quickly freeze to ice and snow at higher elevations, where it can be too late for ill-prepared hikers to turn back.
— With files from Neetu Garcha and Sarah MacDonald
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