Hope SAR rescues three stranded hikers off Mount Grant summit

HOPE — Hope Volunteer Search and Rescue is issuing a safety reminder after successfully retrieving a small group of hikers off Mount Grant Saturday evening (May 23).

The SAR team was paged out to rescue three stranded hikers at the mountain summit at 7:30 p.m., with one hiker suffering from a sprained ankle and all three hikers’ batteries nearly running out.

With the roughly 2,000-metre Mount Grant still being partially covered in snow, and with trails becoming unmarked past Eaton Lake, Hope SAR said the hikers would not have been ready for a night of temperatures dropping near zero with wind conditions.

“As always, we encourage people to fully research hikes before venturing out,” said Hope SAR. “Less popular hikes like Grant can have minimal reviews, and there’s no way of knowing the skill level of the reviewers. Always carry the essentials you would need to survive a night on the mountain.”

The hikers were extracted by helicopter half an hour before sunset.

Earlier in the day, Hope SAR also teamed up with Chilliwack SAR and Valley Helicopters to help a 70-year-old woman with a medical emergency on Serpent’s Back trail.

Hikers are the top user group requiring search-and-rescue operations in B.C. due to slips and falls that cause lower-body injuries, followed by becoming lost or disoriented and exceeding abilities, according to 2022 data from the BCSARA.