19 WING COMOX – A Cormorant crew from 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron, at 19 Wing Comox, evacuated a young man from the backcountry at Cypress Provincial Park last night. The crew was tasked by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria B.C. when the Provincial Emergency Program contacted them for a backcountry hiker that had activated his Personal Emergency Locator Transmitter.

Local Ground Search and Rescue were deployed to the park but the Cormorant was called upon because of the difficult terrain. Strong winds and very limited visibility made for a difficult mission. “This was one of the most challenging mission of my career”, said Capt. Jean Leroux, Aircraft Commander on the Cormorant. “The man was stranded at 1,600 meters on the side of the mountain. We reached the estimated location of the hiker by slowly flying up the side of the mountain. The helicopter was subjected to strong turbulence because of the 85 kilometres per hour winds coming down on us. We also had to deal with very little visibility since we were at the clouds’ level. We had to attempt multiple pass until the visibility was good enough for us to fly over the man’s location.”

Signaled by the man’s headlamp, the Cormorant positioned itself 20 meters over him and a Search and Rescue Technician was hoisted down to retrieve him.

“The man was well equipped and experienced for the hike he had undertaken,” said Sergeant George Olynyk, SAR Tech Lead. “He had planned his trip well. Unfortunately on his way home, the inclement weather slowed him down and he lost his track. Once the sun was set, he was confident he wouldn’t find his way – that’s when he activated his beacon. He dug himself a trench and took the appropriate actions to survive. The backcountry is unpredictable even when you know what you are doing.”

The man was in good condition and was flown to Lions Bay where BC Ambulance was awaiting.