A group of hikers were forced to spend the night stranded among the rocky boulders of Edge Peak in Golden Ears Park Sunday night, before a helicopter rescue on Monday morning.
Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue spokesperson Rick Laing said the trio had hiked Golden Ears Mountain, but on their descent found themselves on a dangerous slope.
“Without ropes and experience, you just don’t get out of there,” said Laing. “They did the absolute right thing by staying put.”
The hikers were able to get an emergency call out at about 7:15 p.m. on Sunday, but it would have been challenging to get them off the mountain before dark, even via helicopter rescue. The hikers had already camped one night in the park, so the decision was made for them to spend another night on the mountain, and be brought out by helicopter the next day, explained Laing.
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Monday morning, a rescue team was flown to the subjects’ location and assessed that the group could be safely assisted into a helicopter via hover entry. The rescue team was dropped off and escorted the party to where they could be extracted.
Laing said the stranded group was well prepared for a multi-day trip and were experienced climbers. Unfortunately, the quick research they did on this route lead them to be misinformed about the difficulty and equipment required to complete it.
“This is the second rescue RMSAR has had on Edge Peak this summer,” said Laing. “We would like to remind everyone to take extra time when researching hiking and climbing routes to ensure they are prepared to complete the trip.”
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