Over 20 local first responders spend nearly five hours on the mountain before the hiker was located sometime after midnight.
By Madeline Baker, Times-Chronicle
A hiker required airlifting off Anarchist Mountain on the morning of March 15 after a long night spent on the mountain with the search and rescue members who tracked her down.
The woman was hiking near Highway 3, a perilous area notorious for its many car and truck rollovers when she lost her footing and fell somewhere close to the Anarchist Mountain lookout.
She was able to place an emergency call using her mobile phone. The Anarchist Mountain Fire Department (AMFD), arrived on the scene around 7 p.m.
The AMFD medical crew and firefighters began a search in a large area to locate the woman but were faced with a large swath of terrain where the hiker may have landed after the fall.
Extremely steep terrain meant the only option to extricate the downed hiker and SAR personnel was by helicopter which meant an overnight on the mountainside waiting for daylight. Mike Kirs photo.
As night was soon approaching, it was determined that additional resources were required.
The Oliver and Osoyoos Search and Rescue (OOSAR), along with the RCMP, and BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) joined in the search. Teams had no exact location for the fall victim and had no idea of what condition in which she might be found, which gave the search added urgency as night began to fall.
All told, over 40 local first responders convened on the mountain as part of the massive rescue effort and worked into the early morning, when the subject was finally found.
AMFD Lieutenant and SAR member Mike Arychuk recalls locating the hiker just after midnight but says that it was a lengthy process to reach her exact location so that they could provide assessment and medical care.
The woman was found, “alert, scared and very cold,” according to Arychuk, but she would need to be airlifted from the mountain in a high angle rope rescue and that process could not begin until first light.
In the meantime, SAR members stayed at her side and a member of Penticton’s technical rope rescue team descended approximately 175 metres on a rope line from the mountain side above to bring medical supplies and cold weather gear to warm the chilled hiker.
The hiker was airlifted from the mountain in a high angle rope rescue at first light. Mike Kirs photo.
They remained there with her throughout the night until a BCEHS air ambulance arrived around 7 a.m. to perform a long-line extraction from the side of the mountain.
“After a long, cold, wet night, we are pleased that we were able to locate the individual. AMFD and OOSAR have a good working relationship, and we have trained together in the past for something like this. Fortunately, we knew to call them in immediately”, said AMFD Chief Urs Grob.
AMFD extended their special thanks to Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Director Mark Pendergraft, whose local knowledge proved invaluable to the success of their rescue efforts.
They also highlighted the collaborative team approach which led to successfully locating the hiker, including Oliver/Osoyoos Search and Rescue, Penticton Search and Rescue, RCMP, BCEHS and Topflight Helicopters.
The rescue was a success by all measures, but Arychuk says that all hikers in dangerous terrain should take their own steps to help search and rescue teams should the unthinkable happen to them.
“Make sure you have a trip plan, let someone know where you’re going, and avoid rocky and steep terrain in wet conditions.”
Mike Kirs photo.
