Record number of calls to NSR in August from hikers in distress
Posted August 22, 2015 10:06 am.
Last Updated August 22, 2015 10:07 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A record number of calls from stranded hikers on local mountains this month, and it appears the problem is only getting worse.
North Shore Rescue has received several emergency calls this week, after a run of 13 calls in 14 days to begin the month. That marks an unprecedented number in the history of the rescue organization.
Team Leader Mike Danks says they are still seeing too many unprepared day hikers. “You get people that hear about the site, they think it’s a trendy thing to do and everybody’s doing it so they kind of go out there and they haven’t done any fitness in months and all of a sudden out in this very steep very strenuous hike and they overexert themselves and that is when you get hurt”
That has a lot of people calling for those that get lost or stuck to be billed for their own rescues. But Danks says that’s a bad idea. “Because what happens is people delay calling us and
in doing so they get themselves further into danger. They wait until its dark and they are really stuck before they call and that puts our rescuers safety in jeopardy
He says the solution isn’t punishing people, but educating them to be smarter before they head out on a hike. Danks adds the most problematic trail is the popular Grouse Grind that still sees day-trippers tackling the 28-hundred steps without any preparation.
