TERRACE SEARCH and Rescue undertook a dangerous rescue of a teen hiker who had fallen down Thornhill Mountain while hiking with friends May 21.
After clearing an area on the hillside and assessing the landing area, search and rescue decided everyone would have to be evacuated by a “toe-in” method, said search and rescue member Dwayne Sheppard.
The toe-in method means the helicopter would place its skids on the slippery slope and maintain full power while people climbed into it, he said.
“Toe-in is dangerous because the helicopter is under full power with all blades rotating at full speed. In this case with only the front of the skids touching the slope, the helicopter is carefully balancing itself,” said Sheppard.
“Now imagine people climbing into the helicopter under these conditions.”
Paramedics asked for assistance from Terrace Search and Rescue to help transport an injured hiker off Thornhill Mountain at 4:47 p.m. May 21, said Sheppard.
One person in a hiking party of three had slid down a steep snow-covered slope and landed on some rocks in a drainage between the rocks and melting snow, he said.
The injured 18-year-old sustained minor injuries, was wet and suffering from mild hypothermia, and another hiker also had mild hypothermia, he said.
After a command post was set up in the lower parking lot by Old Lakelse Road, six search and rescue volunteers went up the hiking trail with stretchers and medical equipment to find the injured hiker, said Sheppard.
The three hikers were found about three kilometres up the mountain on a snow-covered slope, he said.
With two hours left before nightfall, the medical team decided to heli-evac everyone off the mountain, added Sheppard.
Thornhill Fire Department assisted and had additional firefighters on standby to assist in a trail evacuation if the helicopter could not land at the site, said Sheppard.
A chainsaw and additional medical equipment was taken by a Lakelse Air helicopter to the hillside area, he said.
Three additional hikers on the mountain helped the search and rescue team with wrapping the injured teen in blankets to keep him warm, cutting trees and creating a helipad, said Sheppard.
Eleven people were taken off the mountain by helicopter about a half hour before dark and the medical equipment and stretchers were left behind to be picked up the next day, said Sheppard.
The teen was taken to Mills Memorial Hospital. He was released after being treated in the emergency room to follow up with his own doctor, said Northern Health Authority official Eryn Collins.
“Through followup, it was decided he should be sent to Vancouver,” she added.
On May 25, he was medevaced to Vancouver for medical treatment for a damaged kidney and Vancouver General Hospital confirmed he had been released last week.