Rescuers used ropes to save unprepared hikers from treacherous slope near Vancouver

Feb 15, 2021 | 12:33 PM

VANCOUVER — Two hikers who were unprepared for the icy and treacherous conditions on Vancouver’s North Shore mountains are unhurt, but searches say the two spent several uncomfortable hours awaiting rescue on Sunday.

North Shore Rescue says the men hopped a fence to scale a challenging but currently closed trail up the side of Grouse Mountain, but strayed off the steep path and into the restricted area of the Capilano watershed.

They became stuck on icy, snowy bluffs just above some cliffs and Scott Merriman with North Shore Rescue says by the time help arrived, one man was leaning on a tree while the second had grabbed some tree roots to avoid sliding any closer to the cliff edge.

In a social media post, rescue officials say the two had no plan, no appropriate winter equipment and poor cellphone capability.