It's all fun and games until someone breaks an ankle.
That's what experienced hiker Michelle Frost learned as a round of "bum sliding" turned into a North Shore Rescue call on West Vancouver's Hollyburn Mountain Saturday.
Frost told the North Shore News that she hiked up the trail, one she'd done before in the summer, using cleats for the ice and snow, and she had no intention of sliding back down. An accidental fall, however, sent her sliding down the trail and deposited her in a snow bank. That wasn't where her injury occured though. In fact, Frost said it seemed like fun, and so she decided to do it again, joining others who were doing the same thing. That's when things went wrong.
When Frost slid down again feet first, she felt a sense of panic as she started gaining speed as if she were riding on a sled. She then took a turn and hit a bump which sent her flying into some snow. As she thudded to a halt, she heard her left ankle "snap."
"There was no way of stopping myself before I realized I was going to have an impact," Frost said.
Six North Shore Rescue crew members took the call, including search manager Don Jardine, heading up the trail to reach the injured hiker, moving her in a toboggan and then a snowcat on the way down to the Cypress Mountain parking lot. Cypress Nordic patrollers helped provide medical care and get the stretcher to bring the hiker down.
“She was very strong and put up with quite a bit of pain, so I’m glad we were able to get her out," Jardine said. The call ended at 8:30 p.m. with the hiker's partner taking her to Lions Gate Hospital.
North Shore Rescue is cautioning the public to avoid “bum sliding” down trails after the injury Saturday. While it may seem like a quicker way to the bottom, Jardine said to avoid “bum sliding” as a person can easily lose control. Walking down is the best way to reach the bottom of a trail, he said.
When people use snowshoes or crampons, they will often dig into the snow and then pitch forward quickly, making it easy to break a leg or an ankle he added.
“We have conditions sometimes where the snow becomes wet and then freezes, and it’s like a skating rink, and a body can accelerate to almost terminal velocity falling down steep snow and ice. It’s similar to falling out of an airplane,” Jardine said.
“So if you get out of control and you don’t know what you’re doing, you could be accelerating to the [point] that you can’t stop,” he added. “Then there’s trees, cliffs and other objects in your way that can cause severe harm.”
Using an ice axe can also help prevent someone from sliding down a trail, Jardine said. A person has to be properly trained on how to use it, but it could prevent a dangerous situation.
Jardine added that it is also important to get out of a trail before it gets dark.
As for the injured hiker, she said she suffered a fractured ankle but expects to have a speedy recovery. Frost said she feels gratitude towards everyone who came to her aid.
A group of bystanders stayed with her until NSR arrived, and even made her a fire to stay warm.
"I think the big takeaway from this is that even as an experienced hiker, even with my cleats, I was not equipped to do that last part of the trail," Frost said. "Looking back now, I understand that it would have been beneficial to have an ice pick or to have poles."
She said signage on the part of the trail she was on would help prevent it happening to others.
"I just hope people who have seen this story will learn from it, and it'll prevent them from the same thing happening," she said.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
