Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 1
3 Teen Hikers Need Helicopter Rescue After 9-Foot Fall on British Columbia Trail
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 1

3 Teen Hikers Need Helicopter Rescue After 9-Foot Fall on British Columbia Trail

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 1

Summary

  • Three teenage boys were rescued on British Columbia’s Howe Sound Crest Trail after an 18-year-old slipped on a rock, fell about 9 feet and injured his tailbone.
  • The group had printed Google Maps directions for what appeared to be a 5-hour backcountry hike, but the trek stretched to at least 12 hours before one hiker called 911.
  • Lions Bay Search and Rescue said medics assessed the injured teen on site, then crews airlifted him out in an evacuation harness while extracting his two companions.
  • The rescue team said the route climbs more than 4,200 feet over loose, irregular mountain terrain, making a 5-hour expectation for the trail “wildly optimistic.”

Insights

Could a simple warning on your phone map app prevent a dangerous backcountry helicopter rescue?
What hidden dangers make trusting urban navigation tools in the wild a potentially fatal mistake?