A man is lucky to be alive after falling off a mountain and needing to be rescued by a helicopter.
The Lions Bay Search and Rescue (LBSAR) team was notified on Monday about a solo climber who fell a significant distance from the East Lion.
LBSAR requested assistance from North Shore Rescue and Talon Helicopters to help with the rescue.
East Lion is noted as one of the hardest summits in Vancouver’s North Shore Mountains.
Search and rescue members learned that the man was on his descent from the summit when he fell and was not wearing a helmet. He was unconscious for more than 30 minutes.
"When he came to he had miraculously been stopped by some shrubs on a ledge,” says a spokesperson with North Shore Rescue. "Upon regaining consciousness, he called 911.”
Video footage of the rescue shows the climber caught in the shrubs on the side of the peak.
'No margin for error'
John Blown, a North Shore Rescue air ops coordinator, was the hoist operator and flew a few metres above the climber to set up an anchor.
A volunteer member, who also works as an emergency room physician, was hoisted into the location and got the subject onto a stretcher.
"Hoisting challenges on this call were ensuring hoists were precise as there was no margin for error during insertions and extraction,” says Blown.
Blown says they were able to provide care to the person in an extremely challenging spot.
They successfully hoisted the climber out and he was flown to paramedics.
The Lions, known as Ch'ích'iyúy Elx̱wíḵn "The Twin Sisters" in the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language, are two peaks. The West Lion is 1,646 metres and 5,400 feet and the East Lion is 1,606 metres and 5,269 feet.
