BASE jumper rescued off B.C. cliff face

Aparachutist who jumped from the top of a popular B.C. tourist spot north of Vancouver was rescued Wednesday night afterhe dangledfrom a cliff facefor more than three hours.

The man had jumpedoff the Stawamus Chief, a700-metre-high mountainin Squamishthat is used extensively by rock climbers,at about 2 p.m. PT.

But it appears that after hedeployed his parachute, wind blew him back toward the rock face, where he landed on a small ledgeand managed tohang on to the side of the mountain.

A search-and-rescue specialistrappelled downthe mountain and retrieved himat about 5:30 p.m.

Theman, who refused to talk to reporters,appeared to have an ankle injury and was taken to hospital.

The activity called BASE jumping, often done by parachutists from high buildings and bridges, is illegal in manyurban locations.

It is legal to BASE jump off The Chief, according to one search and rescue team member, who said it was just the second incident at the mountain involving a BASE jumper in the past 10 years.

Squamish is about 50 kilometresnorth of Vancouver.