North Shore Rescue kept busy Sunday night

It was another busy night for the volunteers with the North Shore Rescue team, who took part in four rescues on Sunday.

Team leader Mike Danks said the evening began when three hikers were escorted off Grouse Mountain after they got stuck without flashlights after dark.

Ten team members then helped five young, unprepared hikers find their way off Mount Strachan at the Cypress Mountain Resort.

About six more volunteers then rescued a man who got lost on Mount Seymour after dark with no lights.

And finally 10 volunteers were dispatched to locate a woman in the Lynn Headwaters area who split with her husband during during an afternoon hike and ended up getting lost down a steep gully.

The team made contact with the woman around 10 p.m. PT, but was unable to reach her until a helicopter was able to lift the woman out at first light on Monday morning.

"They spoke with her. She was okay. She just toughed it out for the night, as did our rescuers," said Danks.

The four rescues capped off a busy weekend for the team, which included rescuing a couple on their first date who got lost on Grouse Mountain on Saturday.

The North Shore Rescue team has raised concerns that their volunteers have been overwhelmed by a spike in the number of rescues this summer and fall, and are talking to the provincial government about options for bolstering support for the all-volunteer organization.

Danks says people heading out for a hike in the North Shore Mountains should prepare by:

• Researching the route you plan to take,
• Giving yourself enough time to get out before dark,
• Telling someone where you plan to go and when you plan to return.
• Taking the ten essential items with you.