“.. wind /water parka, compass, .

Lives at risk in untrained mount

THE following is an eve-witness
account of a fatal climbing
accident on Mount Sevinour.

Mike Holmes
Contributing Writer

ON Sunday, July 11, a
hot sunny day, three of
us (experienced moun-
taineers) decided to ski
up to the summit of

Mt. Seymour.

We had no idea that we
were about to wimess a terrible
accident and take part in a
heart-wrenching rescue.

As we put on our skis at
the parking lot and headed up
the main ski run in the hot
sun, we could not believe the
amount of people we passed
that were entirely without
adequate, or even modest,

-. mountain gear.

We were amazed at the
nonchalance of these people
venturing into the mountains
with only a cell phone for
emergency gear, especially as
cell phones usually do not
work in the mountains and are
often just useless weight while
instilling a false sense of secu-
rity.

Unfortunately, even people
with experience, those who
should know better, are often

_ lazy. Instead of sturdy hiking ..
: boots, many of them wore
running shoes, sandals, and in

Be one case, rubber boots, Most

had shorts, a T-shirt:and car- .
tied no daypack, not-even a. -,
~ hat. It was evident that the .-
”_ hot sun had lulled them into
. leavirig, behind everything of
‘.. importance and it was obvious
. to us that they had none of
the essentials that are :
absolutely necessary when
~ traveling on a day hike in the
mountains, even this close to
> .. ~The essentials thar they
“+ ‘should have been carrying in
"their daypack are: whistle,
knife, flashlight, matches in .
*.. waterproof container, candle, »

sunscreen, sun hat, water,"
tr look very much like a small

_ bergschrund or crevasse.). ©

\.. food, estira fleece clothing,» -

map, warm hat, gloves or
ot mites, first-aid Wt, blister ki,
~~ Jaege orange plastic bag, etc. |

ree if they wat to go off the

“ “steep slopes they should have .
had thick sturdy hiking boots:
-so. that they can kick into the -
“ snow for solid footing. -
~The most important item
jowever is tic ice axe AND
“dhe knowledge of how to use
“p openly. This isa simple
: ‘that can be used for
walking stick, tent peg, seat,
etc. When crossing any snow
slopes it is held in the-vp-hill
hand, so that ifand when one
ips on the snow, their train“:

“ing instinctively makes them’.

fall with the ice axe oriented .

photo Mike Holmes

RESCUERS lower fit. Seynour fal! victim Deborah
White down a slope July 11. She slid more than 60
metres from the top of the siop>. .

so that it digs into the snow

and arrests the slide. a
"We were resting on the

“Third Pump” of Mt.

“Seymour's summit when we
~ observed a couple, and their
“two dogs, walking towards the

edge of a steep 90m (300 ft.)
snow slope on the northwest
flank of “Second Pump.” The
woman slipped at the top of .
the slope and slid out of con-
trol 60-75m (200-230 feet)
down the slope before landing
in the bottom of a five-metre

_ (16") tree well, a hole in the

snow surrounding trees and

often clongated across the

slope by the warming of the
iff rocks in the sun. (They

_ The three of us rushed to
the scene as quickly as possible
and joined with four other
people who witnessed the
companion (eight people
total). We decided quickly to
send our fastest skier down

the mountain to get help.

The remaining seven of us
worked to keep the coura-
gcous woman as warm as pos-
sible by taking our spare
clothing and hat out of our
packs, along with a foam pad
and emergency blanket. These
we gently placed under her
and on top of her to try and
prevent heat Igss and
hypothermia.

This very courageous
woman, Deborah White, was
calm but in great agony and
complaining of the pain in her
back. She was wearing shorts
and shirt, had very light hik-

- ing boots and no ice axe. We
could not move her for fear of ~
-furthering any potential spinal

or internal injuries, thus we
spent an endless, heart-
wrenching 90 minutes with
her trying to keep her warm

"and to comfort her until the

nh main ski run and cross any: -’ accident, along with the lady’s -

helicopter arrived.

With the helicopter came
the North Shore Rescue
Team. Paramedic Tim Jones

Wednesday, August 4, 1999 — North Shore News — 27

ain hikes —

~

NORTH Shore Rescue volunteers and members of the B.C. Ambulance Service
load fal! victim Deborah White onto a helicopter. An eyewitness says such acci-

dents are preventable.

took immediate charge cf the
situation and started advanced
medical aid to Deborah, as
well as designating various
duties to the increasing num-
ber of people at the scene as
the helicopter arrived with
two more teams of rescuers
and all of their gear.

Belay anchors were set up
to lower the stretcher down
the steep snow slope to the

+ landing area for the helicopter,

approximately 100m (330 ft.)
distant. We succeeded in low-
ering the stretcher 'to the heli-
copter but had to take the
stretcher out of the helicopter
when Deborah stopped
breathing. The paramedics,
Jones and his ambulance assis-
tant, managed to regain
Deborah’s heart beat and
breathing and she was then
placed in the helicopter again
and flown out to the hospital.

We are extremely sad to
say that she died early the next
morning in the hospital from
the internal injuries that she
suffered in the fall.

This accident has affected
all of us very deeply and will
remain with us for the rest of
cur lives (as will the haunting
images of her beautiful eyes):
from the witnesses on hand,
to the rescue team and para-
medics, to the helicopter pilot,
to the doctors and emergency
team in the hospital. _

We are especially sad as this

accident, and many other acci-
dents in the mountains close
to Vancouver, can be avoided
with the proper thinking,
equipment and training.

If people would stop being
so nonchalant about a day
hike and understand that ©

being prepared is not just’, .-

“Unfortunately,
even people with
experience, those
who should know
better, are often

iazy.”

some motto for the Boy
Scouts, but is a mindset that
accepts accountability for
one's actions and prepares for
any activity in a responsible
m™ Not on! d

jot o nts an
adults have to be responsible,
but teenagers, young adults
and even kids have to be edu-
cated from an early age, in a

consistently responsible man- —

ner, to be accountable for

-themselves, to prepare for ~
themselves, and to answer for -

themselves,
Whar do you think the

benefits of a five-day first-aid
course every second year com-
mencing in Grade 8 would
be? How about, in alternate
years, a five-day basic course
in mountain travel: teaching
about potential hazards, layer-
ing of clothing, which essen-
tials to carry at all times, vari-

> ous safety techniques, and
‘most importantly, the constant

evaluation process that an
experien:
outdoors person conducts as
they progress in the outdoors,
i.e. when to recognize bad or: -
changing weather, dangerous
slopes and snow conditions, —
the onset of hypothermia
symptoms in party members,
and most importantly: when
° ‘ima ae his grad
agine this, a uatin,

teen would then have three
(five-day) first-aid courses,
with che most recent course
taken in the last year of high
school, as well as two (five-
day) basic mountain travel |
corey would be graduating”

’ They wo lating
with real-life skills and be 5
trained in responsible and crit-

Let’s recognize the moun-
tainous environment that we .. >.
live in and accordingly teach’:
our children to be accountable.
to themselves and responsible :
for the safety of their friends»
and peers. ge

We'll be doing some tree pruning and _
removal in West Vancouver over the next
few months. We need to do this work to

ty ancl to make sure your .

ensure your safety

- @lectric service remains reliable.

Hazard trees are the most common cause. ©
of power interruptions. Unhealthy ox ..

<

and responsible

unstable trees may fall onto power lines,’ ” “
endangering people and animals. Healthy
' trees can simply be trimmed, but trees
with inner rot need to be completely
Any trees that are removed willbe.
recycled as wood chips, firewood or raw *
logs. Approval for any necessary removals
has been obtained from the appropriate
municipal department and/cr the private
property owner. rn
Fer more information about our current
$2,000.00 frora the work or other vegetation management
Corporation of the practices please call your focal Hydro.
‘District of North : BS ae § © office and ask to speak with the vegeta-
Vancouver. and : ve Ege = tion management coordinator. ~~
$1,000.60 from the : THE POWER IS Yours. [
Corporation of the City | wo :
ret VOU

: West Vancouver | “> West Vancouver
: Upper Levels Hwy Upper Levels Hwy #

gratefully acknowledges
receipt of wo municipal
community Grants for
1999 as follows:

Burrard Inlet

Municipal Boundary ™!

of North Vancouver an fe