Dear Editor,
I am sure the two hikers up Mount Gardner on Monday, the 12th, were very happy to see the fire fighters who hiked up to them and helped them find their way down. Thank you to the Bowen fire fighters who participated in this rescue.
I wish to add a little more information about the comment in the article about North Shore Search and Rescue’s (NSSR) response to the call for help. NSSR received the call at 4:15, requesting they come over in a helicopter to rescue the two. As it is dark at 4:45, the timeline for flying at that time was very tight. As the article noted, NSSR offered to come over by ferry, but our fire chief took the initiative to send up several of our fire fighters in order to reach the hikers more quickly. And then walked them down safely to their car and the ferry.
Two hikers set out to climb Mt. Gardner on a snowy winter day, with limited hours of daylight. Instead of doing the sensible thing and allowing themselves plenty of daylight to descend, they apparently proceed to the top and by all accounts are then too tired to walk down. And it is getting dark. They see the helicopter pad and decide to ring for a helicopter.
As the mother of a hardworking dedicated NSSR volunteer, I am continually astonished at the lack of foresight of those who head out into our mountains and assume that, with a cell phone, a rescue is only minutes away. On the day of the Mt. Gardner rescue, my son had participated that morning in the rescue of two out of bound skiers at Cypress, hanging from the long line of the helicopter to rescue them from a dangerous avalanche gully. The NSSR provides a very valuable - and free - service to our communities. They put their lives at risk every time they head out to a call. And they do rescue “tired people” but not necessarily by helicopter!
Sincerely,
Nerys Poole
