On Friday, February 21, a sledder was rescued after breaking their leg in the Wolverine riding area, north of Tumbler Ridge.
Members of the North Peace Search and Rescue (NPSAR) attended the scene. According to Craig Waters, Search and Rescue Manager for Tumbler Ridge Search and Rescue (TRSAR), members of NPSAR came from Fort St. John as the three members from the Tumbler Ridge team with the appropriate training for rescue in avalanche terrain were unavailable that day. “Our team helped manage the task and was prepared for a ground extraction or rapid intervention if necessary, but we didn’t have anyone in the field,” says Waters.
NPSAR flew into the Wolverine area, picking up one member from Chetwynd Search and Rescue to help. “He was working in the area, and had the required professional avalanche designations to evaluate avalanche safety of rescue operations,” says Waters.
By the time the combined team was able to land, the victim, with the help of other riders in his party, was able to get to a nearby warming shelter. This made him very easy to find and pick up, says Waters.
The group also had a Garmin inReach, which they used to alert Search and Rescue of the Emergency. This was very fortunate, as any later in the day, and a helicopter would have been unable to get into the area to pull him out. “We were racing against daylight, and if it wasn’t for their efforts before SAR got there, we probably wouldn’t have been able to get them out before dark,” says Waters. “This would have meant a long night of ground transport.”
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
