Two hikers and a dog are safe and sound after being successfully rescued from Mount Albert Edward in Strathcona Park by the Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue (CVGSAR) team Thursday morning.
The hiking group was airlifted to safety in the morning following a rope rescue by SAR on the night prior.
Paul Berry of the CVSAR says one of the two female hikers sustained a minor injury from a fall, and that both hikers were disoriented on their way back down the mountain just west of the Comox Valley in Strathcona Park.
Berry says the hikers were from Victoria and were “poorly prepared” to venture into the Alpine where fierce winter conditions continue to persist.
The SAR member says the group was hiking in inadequate clothing, with no map, poor navigation devices, and travelling without the necessary gear to sustain them in those conditions.
Although a helicopter brought in two separate SAR teams to help rescue the stranded group, the dense could conditions disallowed the hikers to be rescued by air. The group was hiked out of the area to a safer location at Circlet Lake, northeast of the Mountain on Wednesday night, before being airlifted out Thursday morning.
Rebecca Lawrence
