A pair of young Lethbridge men were rescued after mistakenly hiking off-course in Waterton Lakes National Park during the weekend of June 20-21. A call was made to rescue teams after the two men, brothers, did not appear at work on Monday morning, June 22.
Both men were said to be in their early twenties and were evacuated by a heli-sling rescue operation after they wee unable to complete their hike.
David Argument, Protection and Operations Coordinator with Parks Canada, explained that the two men seemed well prepared for their mountainous excursion -with appropriate tents, sleeping bags and other equipment- but when the weather took a turn for the worst, the two were faced with an unanticipated extra night outside.
The two had originally planned to hike the Blakistone Snowshoe Route, but according to Argument, had altered their plans to hike Avion Ridge. While hiking the Avion Ridge course, the weather took an unexpected nasty turn around 3:00p.m. on Sunday afternoon, June 21.
The pair expected to descend from the Avion Ridge using a route above Goat Lake, but inadvertently used the wrong descent route. According to Argument, the descent route taken by the young men misled the hikers who ended-up in a valley with difficult terrain. As a result, the pair of brothers could not exit from the valley and were forced to spend an extra night in the wilderness.
As the young men were not at work as planned on Monday morning, a call was placed to the Lethbridge Dispatcher, and officials at Waterton Lakes were contacted.
Ground crews were dispatched, as well as a helicopter, in an attempt to find the missing hikers. The pair were located and rescued from their location in good health. As the helicopter was unable to land on the terrain where the hikers had stopped, a heli-sling rescue operation was performed.
During a heli-sling rescue, crews are suspended from a chopper and lowered onto the ground without necessitating a landing from the helicopter. Once crews are in place, a hiker will be attached to the helicopter, suspended in the air, and returned to safety. Monday marked the second heli-sling rescue operation of Waterton Lakes' 2009 busy season.
Argument stressed that the pair seemed prepared; the only piece missing from their preparations -and that item being of critical importance- was they should informed someone where they planned to hike. As the young men had switched from the Blakistone Snowshoe Route to Avion Ridge, they did not inform their parents or friends in Lethbridge of their altered course.
The rescue operation concluded shortly after 4:00p.m. on Monday afternoon. The pair were said to be in good health -just hungry and cold after an unanticipated extra night in the woods.
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