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News 985-2131

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SY VABOOUYVYER

ore on top

RESCUE WORKERS REPORT

It’s a mirac

VANCOUVER GENERAL Hospital (VGH) of-
ficials say the condition of a 16-year-old Gibsons
youth is improving following 2 3G-metre fall over
an embankment at Cypress Bowl Friday as the
youth was attempting to retrieve one of his skis

which had slid away.

By JOANNE MacDONALD

Ardan Patrick Mackenzie
had travelied ro the moun-
tain with a Jarge group of
friends, however, the youths
did not realize Mackenzie
was missing when the group

returned to Gibsons Friday
night.

Set. John Looye of the
West Vancouver Police said
police were first informed
the youth was missing at
12:07 a.m. Saturdgy when
they received a telephone call
from the boy’s mother in

Gibsons,

Looye said after
estabjishing among
Mackenzie's friends that no
one had seen the youth
return to Gibsons, the North
Shore Rescue Team was
called to the scene.

At about 4:50 a.m. sear-
chers Jogated a ski, believed
to befung to the missing
youth, Rescue team
members said single ski
tracks were then discovered
leadiny trom the Collins Run
to the unconscious youth.

“What we figured hap-

le he’s st

pened was that he left one
ski at the top and then found
he couldn't get to the other
ski which had slid away. So
he decided to walk down,
couldn't get to the ski, came
up again to his starting
point, made another attempt
to get the ski, then slipped
and fell,” said a rescue team
member.

Conditions at che scene
were described as extremely
icy and treacherous.

Looye said Mackenzie
was found just after 6:00
a.m., suffering from

RETO

hypothermia, head injuries
and a broken wrist. Rescue
officials reported MacKenzie
was lying at a 40 degree
angle on a slope with his feet
uppermost and his head and
shoulders in the snow. His
head was described as being
within wo to three inches
from being covered, with
snow only about two inches
away from his mouth.
“When he fell, the force
of his body into the snow
created a space and it allow-
ed him to breathe,’” said a
team member. ‘ir was a

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d

LINDA MOORE’S
North Vancouver rink
is sitting on top of the
world — the world of
curling that is.

The Moore quartet is
undefeated through the first
five rounds of play at the
world curling champion-
ships, keeping alive a winn-
ing streak that started with
the club championships on
the North Shore and con-
tinued through the provin-
cial and national playoffs.

Moore, third Lindsay
Sparkes — making her se-
cond appearance in the
world finals —, second
Debbie Jones and lead
Laurie Carney, won their
fifth game of the champion-
ships Tuesday 6-5 over West
Germany. That keeps them
ahead of the second place
Swiss and Danish teams who
have each suffered one loss
in their five outings.

Earlier in the week, the
Moore rink beat Switzerland
8-2 in what some experts saw
as the match of the tourna-
ment, That came after nar-
row 4-3) and 7-6. victories
over Sweden and Denmark
and an opening round 13-3
pasting of the American en-
try.

Curling continues through
this week with round robin
competition producing the
finalists for the wortd
crown,

ll alive

miracle that he was able to
keep breathing.”

Rescue team members ap-
plied heat treatment to com-

bat the hypothermia. Ox-
ygen was also adminstered to
the youth. He was finally
lowered approximately 200
meters down a gulley by
stretcher and evactiated by
helicopter to VGH.

Rescue officials said
MacKenzie was unconscious
at the time of the team’s ar-
rival. It is estimated the
youth spent up to 12 hours
lying in the snow.

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