A woman was rescued near Princeton Monday after being struck by a falling rock while hiking.
Princeton Search and Rescue responded late Monday afternoon shortly after a report of an injured female hiker in her early 20’s on Johnny’s Hat Mountain near Princeton.
The female hiker was part of a larger group on the Mountain when she was struck by a falling rock.
Upon being notified by BC ambulance service, Princeton SAR responded after 4 p.m. with nine personnel and located the victim on the mountain in serious condition.
With daylight failing, Princeton SAR Manger Randy Rorvik requested the assistance of other nearby SAR teams and the Canadian Armed Forces.
With the victim in serious condition and in a very difficult area to access, the initial strategy to have the victim extracted by helicopter, however the Armed Forces Cormorant Helicopter was not able to make its way to the rescue site.
By 8 p.m. 19 members of Penticton’s Search and Rescue team along with 2 Oliver Osoyoos SAR members arrived and began to prepare for a difficult rescue operation.
Over the next 8 hours rescue teams hauled personnel and equipment up the mountain over extremely difficult and dangerous terrain in order to set up a series of rope stations in which to lower the victim to the Valley bottom.
Although the Cormorant Rescue Helicopter was unable to attend, CFB Comox 442’s Buffalo Search Aircraft took up station overhead and for over three hours dropped flares down over the mountainside to assist rescuers as they ascended the mountain.
The search flares not only aided the rescuers in providing much needed light, but it was a boost to the teams’ morale.
While the main priority of the rescuers was to preparing the evacuation of the victim, the Rescue team still had to escort four of the other hikers down the mountain to safety, which they did without incident.
By 2 a.m. the rope rescue teams had all of their plans in place and thus began the long and dangerous journey down the mountainside where the victim was finally transferred to BC Ambulance Service shortly after 4 a.m. The victim was transported to Penticton General Hospital where she is recovering.
"This was an extremely difficult area to access and extricate a victim from," said Penticton SAR president Dale Jorgenson. "We had so many factors to consider with the terrain being so steep, an unstable slope with lots of falling rock and then you add the darkness."
"Our rope team leaders had their work cut out for them and they performed exceptionally well. Overall I was extremely pleased how everyone handled themselves, from the SAR Teams, BCAS and the support from our Air Force – we got the job done and we wish our best for the young lady to have a speedy recovery."