Two stranded hikers were airlifted to safety Monday (Sept. 21) morning after spending an uncomfortable night on a cold mountain.
The hikers, a man and woman in their 20s from Toronto, reached the summit of the Yamnuska Traverse on Sunday, but during their descent lost the main trail and headed north to the CMC Valley.
“They started hiking down through the forest and they realized their error and they decided to go back up, but went into very steep terrain, and eventually were overcome by darkness,” said Jeremy Mackenzie, Kananaskis Country Public Safety specialist.
The hikers were able to get cellphone service on the mountain and called for help around 8 p.m. Rescuers began the ascent to find them, but with worsening weather and the pair stranded in a “bad piece of terrain,” the ground rescue had to be called off around 2 a.m. for safety reasons.
The search resumed at first light where rescuers using an Alpine helicopter located the hikers at about 7:30 a.m. The pair wasn’t wearing proper clothing or footwear to spend a night on the chilly mountain, said Mackenzie.
“We heli-slung them out of the tricky terrain,” said Mackenzie, adding they were dehydrated and hungry, but still fully functioning.
The hikers were transferred to a waiting EMS vehicle for hypothermia treatment.
“The thing is it’s not an official hiking trail, it’s a scrambling route, so the trail isn’t as easy to find as a typical Parks maintained trail. We do have some people with challenges with it,” Mackenzie said.
“With that, you need have to have some route finding skills and some knowledge from moving off trail.
“People just need to remember that the seasons are changing and now it’s much shorter days and colder nights with longer periods without any daylight. People should make sure they have appropriate gear and are planning ahead.”
