Rescue crews evacuated two rock climbers off Pincushion Mountain near Peachland on Monday evening (April 26).
According to Central Okanagan Search and Rescue (COSAR), two male hikers began to make their way down from a trail when one of them fell several meters and struck his head. The other hiker reached the same point but called for help when he couldn’t climb up or down from the ledge.
COSAR enlisted the help of West Kelowna Fire Rescue, Peachland Fire and Rescue, Oliver- Osoyoos Search and Rescue (OOSAR) and Penticton Search and Rescue (PenSAR) for the rescue. Just under 50 emergency personnel responded to the call.
“Emergency crews arrived to evacuate the injured male and transferred him by ambulance to hospital,” said COSAR. “The combined teams then spent the next five hours extracting the other male from the ledge.”
The West Kelowna technical team reached the man and was lowered from his position just before 11 p.m. Paramedics evaluated him before heading home.
“The male was in a position that was not easy to get to and with darkness setting in, it made the job extremely difficult,” said COSAR. “One aspect in our favour was the fact there was a full moon and a clear sky which helped.”
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