The weather is heating up, you’ve got some days booked off, it feels like the perfect time to get out and explore British Columbia’s natural splendor.
That’s great, says the province’s search-and-rescue community; just make sure you’ve got a plan to get home in one piece.
“Not everyone knows how to reach their destination safely, and I’ll remind everybody that their destination is home,” said Sandra Riches, executive director of B.C. AdventureSmart.
“Because the peak, the river, that trail, is only halfway. You still have to turn around and come back.”
Calls to B.C. search-and-rescue teams always surge with the summer season, and while the numbers are about on par for previous years, there have been some tough deployments already this year.
On Canada Day, 20-year-old Alex Nguyen vanished near Shannon Falls while hiking, prompting a massive search. Days later, police called off the effort with Nguyen still missing.
Last month, a vehicle was swept into the Squamish River, and while three people were able to escape, a fourth 24-year-old man was never located.
“Although it’s been an average sort of call volume, we’ve had some significant calls involving serious injuries and fatalities, it’s been one of the worst seasons so far for our team in terms of that,” North Shore Rescue search manager Doug Pope said.
“We all think about it almost on a daily basis, the ones we haven’t been able to find.”
Squamish Search and Rescue is on track for about 140 call-outs this year, near the top end of its annual average.
From rock climbers to mountain bikers and throngs of hikers exploring the Stawamus Chief, search manager Tyler Duncan said there’s often one common thread.
“A lot of our standard ‘lost hikers’ calls are for people that are, shall we say, less than prepared and don’t know the area well,” he said, adding that many trails move quickly out of cell phone reception.
“It is very important for people to understand that what might appear to be a very simple hike or a very simple walk, even, might take a long time to get a message out.”
Pope has been working search and rescue for 21 years, and says he’s seen call volumes climb every year.
With the explosion in popularity of outdoor activities, the rapid growth in population of the Lower Mainland and an increase in tourism, he said the numbers just keep pushing higher.
“Some trails that I used to see three or four people on a Saturday morning on I am seeing 300 or 400,” he said.
Some outdoor experts in part of the blame on social media, where posts may share breathtaking views without capturing the difficulty or even danger involved in reaching them.
The B.C. Search and Rescue Association is hoping to use the same technology to help educate would-be backcountry adventurers, and to help prevent them from becoming statistics.
Hikers have long been urged to ensure they pack the 10 essentials on any adventure.
But search crews are now publishing videos walking recreators through specific trails which detail potential hazards in the hopes hikers will be better prepared, whether it be their footwear or the amount of time they give themselves for the trip.
“Social media can be a benefit if you know where to go and use us as that resource, as that reliable resource, knowing that we’re using the data from the search and rescue calls to work with industry to provide the right resources,” Riches said.
“It’s great because you’re trained, you’re skilled, you have abilities, you know what to do in an emergency, you know how to communicate, and you’ve got all your ducks in order.”
Riches said data shows that the vast majority of calls — 95 per cent — involve locals, not tourists, and as a result they’ve been crafting tools targeted at that audience.
Duncan, meanwhile, said there’s room for everyone in the backcountry as long as they’re prepared, and they don’t try and bite off more than they can chew.
“Work your way up to some of the bigger hikes,” he said.
“Your first day in the mountains shouldn’t be trying to attempt the Tantalus traverse, it’s one of the most technical mountaineering routes in B.C. — but there are lots of opportunities to develop up to those sorts of adventures.”