Two hikers were rescued near Lions Bay, B.C., on Saturday after slipping down steep, treacherous terrain, according to search and rescue personnel. 

A group of 14 hikers was descending Brunswick Mountain when a woman in the group slipped and fell about 20 metres down a steep slope, said Lions Bay Search and Rescue manager Maria Masiar. 

Masiar said a man in the group attempting to rescue her then slipped and fell around 100-150 metres, stopping just before a steep rocky waterfall. 

“They were lucky to stop where they did,” she said.

Masiar said the man was fortunate to get wedged in a snow moat just above a steep rocky drop, noting he was conscious but in critical condition when they reached him. 

A third man from the group made it down the slope to wait with him for rescue, and was unharmed. 

Two helicopters and 19 volunteers from both Lions Bay SAR and North Shore Rescue responded to the call, which they received around 1:40 p.m. Saturday afternoon, flying to where the hikers were located and lifting them out. 

“It was a very technical rescue, they had to set up rope systems and rappel into his location,” she said. The team consisted of rope technicians, mountain specialists, helicopter teams and medics.

A social media post from North Shore Rescue says a doctor provided “advanced medical care” to the man on the scene before hoisting him out of the area. 

Masiar said he was taken to Lions Bay and handed over to B.C. Emergency Health Services. 

BCEHS confirmed to CBC News that paramedics met search and rescue crews in Lions Bay and took a person to the hospital in critical condition around 4:18 p.m. 

Masiar said the woman was in stable condition.

Tricky terrain 

Masiar is warning those planning on heading out into the backcountry that conditions on the North Shore and Sea-to-Sky region are “tricky.”

She said the snowpack on local mountains is extremely saturated after four straight days of heavy rain. She said there has also been overnight freezing.  

“Most of the area went to bulletproof ice,” she said. “It is full mountaineering conditions up there.”

She said proper equipment, such as mountaineering crampons and an ice axe are required. General shoe spikes are not adequate. 

Masiar said Saturday’s rescue was able to go smoothly as they had all the resources available and optimal weather conditions for a rescue mission. 

“You set the emotions aside, go into action when it happens,” said Masiar. “We’re proud of that, as a team.”