Rescue crews coordinate a fallen rock climber's retrieval on Saturday, March 15 at Copley Ridge. (Image Credit: North Shore Rescue)

By Ian Holmes

Complex response

Injured rock climber hoisted from Lantzville cliff

Mar 16, 2026 | 4:00 PM

NANAIMO — Facing darkness and a patient in significant pain, a helicopter was requested to assist an injured adventurer near Nanaimo.

Local Search and Rescue crews were assigned to upper Lantzville’s Copley Ridge on Saturday, March 14 at about 4 p.m. in response to a rock climber who had fallen about 10 feet and sustained a debilitating leg injury.

Nanaimo SAR search manager Dave Stewart said the task off the end of Copley Ridge Dr. was complex given the challenging steep terrain.

“It was determined that due to where he was located on the bottom of a cliff face it would have been a difficult extraction that would have required ropes, so a helicopter was requested,” Stewart told NanaimoNewsNOW.

SAR crews accompany an injured rock climber as he’s hoisted into a North Shore Rescue helicopter. (Image Credit: Duane Young/Nanaimo Search and Rescue)

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The helicopter was courtesy of North Shore Rescue, which arrived with a pair of emergency room doctors aboard.

A rope extraction pulled the injured man from the scene to the suspended chopper above.

Stewart said the injured man was then flown to Nanaimo Airport where the patient was transferred to the care of BC Emergency Health Services.

He said the callout was a successful response from three SAR teams, noting Arrowsmith SAR also responded with a rope team, which was stood down after North Shore Rescue’s aerial support arrived.

“The subject did all of the right things. After the injury they stayed put and called 911 immediately, and the person with the subject provided as much care as they possibly could.”

BC Emergency Health Services confirmed the injured patient was transported to hospital in stable condition.

A North Shore Rescue member during a callout on the afternoon of Thursday, March 14 in Lantzville. (Image Credit: North Shore Rescue)

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