Hiker掉入樹井, 差點失溫喪命

ALEXYIM

North Shore News May 13
AN Alberta man nearly died of hypothermia on the weekend after venturing up a Cypress Bowl ski slope in summer clothing and becoming exhausted.

The visitor, in his 20s, hiked up one of the West Vancouver ski resort's main runs Sunday with a group of friends. The companions reached the top and were on their way down, taking what they believed to be a shortcut, when the victim and another man started to fall behind.

Shortly after 5 p.m., with the faster members of the group out of sight, the subject lost his footing, and tumbled into a rocky tree well. He suffered only minor injuries in the fall, but he felt too tired to extract himself from his predicament, according to rescuers. With his light summer clothing soaked from the snow, the man began to develop hypothermia. He called 9-1-1, and police passed the call on to North Shore Rescue, who immediately launched a search.

A member of the volunteer team got in touch with the victim, and managed to establish his location before the man's phone died. Rescuers rushed to the area, making their way up the slope to the place he had fallen. They reached the victim and his companion, checked him out and provided him with dry clothing.

It turned out the man was well enough to walk to the main ski run, where he was picked up by a snowmobile and transported to safety.

"He really gave up," said Tim Jones, team leader with North Shore Rescue. "It was a bit of a bizarre call."

The incident should serve as a reminder to the public to take care in the backwoods at this time of year, despite the warming weather, said Jones. "It's not a summer environment," he said. "It's a true winter environment, still. People have to respect that." -- James Weldon

看完這則新聞, 又提高了以下警愓:
1. 天氣雖然逐漸回暖, 仍要穿著適當的保溫衣物。
2. 鏟子是不可缺少。
3. 最重要還是要整體行進, 不可落單。有事故發生時, 其他隊員可立刻施以援手。