vancouver –
A backcountry skier had to be lowered down Hollyburn Mountain on a stretcher Monday afternoon after being caught in an avalanche.
North Shore Rescue told CTV News the skier appeared to fracture his femur during a small slide that struck on British Columbia’s southern coast during a period of heightened avalanche danger.
“On a day like today I think it’s really important to choose our terrain and routes – we had a lot of rain, the temperatures were warmer,” search manager Dave Barnett said after the rescue.
The volunteer search team was able to locate the injured skier in the early afternoon but said he could not be flown to safety because of cloud conditions.
Instead, members brought him down on a stretcher – an operation that required considerable effort given the amount of snow on the ground.
“It takes a lot of work, a lot of staff,” Barnett said. “We used ropes to lower him down and get him down safely, and that takes a lot of resources.”
The rescue mission came days after the end of another record-breaking year for the team. North Shore Rescue had responded to 225 calls as of December 30, beating the previous record of 151 calls set in 2020.
Before that, the record was 144 calls, set in 2018.
