Flares from a Buffalo military aircraft ignited the sky late on Saturday, Jan 23 to assist ground SAR crews in guiding an injured hiker down Mount Benson. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

Busy day

2 hikers rescued in separate calls for help on Mount Benson

Jan 24, 2021 | 1:16 PM

NANAIMO — Dangerous conditions on Mount Benson made for a long day and night for search and rescue crews tasked with retrieving a pair of injured hikers.

Nanaimo SAR search manager Eugene Touchette said it took six-and-a-half hours to safely guide a seriously injured man near the top of the mountain down the slippery slope to a waiting ambulance.

Touchette said a woman in her 50s was located in the mid afternoon on Saturday on the lower part of the mountain behind Westwood Lake.

She was escorted to BC Ambulance personnel with a minor lower body injury after falling.

The late night rescue proved to be a challenging, time consuming mission.

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Touchette said the original plan was to have a military aircraft hoist the man to safety.

“They tried their best for a long time to try to get some holes in the cloud to come and pick him out of, but it just didn’t work, it didn’t allow for that situation to happen.”

Flares from a Buffalo aircraft lit up the night sky for about two hours, providing additional visibility for ground SAR crews in their long and slow journey down with the injured man.

A rope system was used to help navigate the steep sections at higher elevations.

Touchette said the man with a serious, but non-life threatening wound was eventually handed over to the BC Ambulance Service off the end of Harewood Mines Rd. at 11:30 p.m.

The original 911 call for help came in at 4 p.m and his location was immediately verified via GPS, Touchette said.

SAR officials didn’t want the injured man spending the night on the mountain under quickly deteriorating conditions.

“The top of the mountain had turned into ice due to the warm weather we’ve been having in recent days. Then with the cold weather coming in, it was glare ice up there,” Touchette said.

By Sunday morning several inches of fresh snow had fallen on Mount Benson.

Touchette said 18 Nanaimo SAR members handled both calls back-to-back, noting the last member left their hall at 2 a.m. Sunday.

Both injured hikers were with companions, Touchette said.

Ten Arrowsmith SAR members aided in the lengthy night rescue.

SAR officials advise people planning a trip in the backcountry to reference AdventureSmart.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com
On Twitter: @reporterholmes