Tourist rescued from North Shore cliff, 'app was wrong'
Tuesday, October 9, 2018, 6:57 PM - A hiker who spent a cold, wet night clinging to the side of a cliff on the North Shore mountains has been rescued, with crews saying he's "very, very lucky" he's unhurt.
Michael Buckingham became lost on Crown Mountain around 4:45 p.m. on Monday. He phoned for help, saying he was stranded on a ledge.
He was rescued by helicopter just after 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Buckingham, a 37-year-old British tourist, stood on his own after being lowered from the helicopter's long line, explaining to nearby crews that something had gone wrong with an app he'd been using to navigate.
(Stay on top of active weather | Your local alerts and warnings)
CHALLENGING TERRAIN
North Shore Rescue search manager Simon Jackson said Buckingham didn't have a lot of hiking experience in the area.
Jackson said the hiker's app had an inaccurate map, which led him into a treacherous situation.
The team posted a photo of Buckingham as he was trapped on the ledge.
North Shore Rescue posted this photo showing where Michael Buckingham, 37, spent the night on Crown Mountain. The caption said it's "an extreme example of what can happen when you get off route" and that Buckingham was "very very lucky to have not fallen." (North Shore Rescue/Instagram)
"This is an extreme example of what can happen when you get off route. Very, very lucky to have not fallen," the caption read.
"It's not a hiking trail," said Jackson. "It's a scramble trail, with some pretty exposed sections."
Jackson said crews were able to get Buckingham's co-ordinates from his cellphone and dispatched a field crew to his location overnight — but poor weather was problematic.
A helicopter left for a long-line rescue of a stranded hiker on Crown Mountain just before 8 a.m. on Tuesday. (Yvette Brend/CBC)
The search manager said it's a reminder to always prepare for the worst.
"We always say, 'Take the basic essentials, even on a day hike.' You just never know when you're going to twist an ankle or something minor and be nighted. If you're nighted up there, it's a lot colder than it is down here."
This article was originally published on CBC.ca, by Gian-Paolo Mendoza. With files from Yvette Brend.
