A challenging rescue above Highway 99
Yesterday, Lions Bay Search and Rescue responded to a stranded hiker above Highway 99 who had attempted an unconventional route to Bowen Lookout.
Rather than taking an established hiking trail, the hiker parked along Highway 99 and began making his way uphill through Montizambert Creek. There is no hiking trail in this area.
After traversing toward Stripp Creek, he realized he wasn't going to reach his destination and decided to turn around. While descending, he slipped and fell into the drainage. He sustained some cuts but was otherwise uninjured. Unfortunately, he was now stranded in extremely challenging terrain.
The hiker had a headlamp but was wearing Vans shoes, which were poorly suited to the steep, slippery terrain. After falling into the water, he was also getting cold.
A complicated rescue
Although the subject was only about 100 metres above Highway 99, reaching him was anything but straightforward.
The highway corridor is bordered by steep cliff walls extending for approximately a kilometre. Sections of the rock face have been stabilized with sprayed concrete, rebar and fencing. Multiple power lines run above and below the area, further complicating the possibility of a helicopter rescue.
We deployed two teams to investigate different access routes.
The first team attempted a traverse from the north side of Montizambert Creek toward Strip Creek. Progress was agonizingly slow through dense brambles, clearcuts and extensive blowdown.
Meanwhile, a second mountain rescue team searched for a route directly up from the highway. They encountered steep Class 4 terrain, thick vegetation and trees that could serve as anchors.
After finding a viable route through the cliffs, the mountain rescue team traversed approximately 100 metres to reach and secure the subject.
A fixed rope was established, allowing additional rescuers to ascend with equipment and supplies for the subject.
The team then constructed a rope rescue system and lowered the subject down the cliff with an accompanying rescuer. The remaining rescuers rappelled to the bottom.
Once safely down, the hiker was provided with warm clothing and received a medical assessment. He declined ambulance transport.
The lesson: research your route
Unconventional routes don't always go. What looks like a manageable approach on a map can quickly become impassable when confronted with steep rock, dense vegetation, unstable terrain and cliffs.
This is particularly important in our coastal mountains, where descending into drainages can lead to increasingly steep terrain, waterfalls, and cliffs with no safe way forward.
In this case, the hiker was only 100 metres from the highway, but those 100 metres required a technical mountain rescue operation.
Distance alone tells you very little about how difficult terrain will be to navigate.