Winter conditions trap hikers on Grouse

[James holden]

for those that dont know … this particular trail goes up to the ski resort … it is in metro vancouver itself, as urban as it gets

more at link …

http://www.nsnews.com/Winter+conditions+trap+hikers+Grouse/6361050/story.html

Dressed only in light clothing and footwear, they soon found themselves unable to continue up the mountainside and unable to climb down.
……..

“It’s spring in people’s minds,” he said. “It’s time for hiking, and it’s a beautiful day. They don’t see where the snowline is in the tree canopy; they don’t (grasp) the dangers. You can climb up a steep slope; the problem is coming down. That’s where people fall and get seriously hurt, or they die.”

Snow can cling to shady parts of the mountains well into the summer, said Jones. As hikers walk over it, it becomes compacted and turns to ice, creating a potentially deadly hazard.

“These guys represented a large number of people, some of whom had even worse footwear than they did,” he said. “It surprised us . . . that we didn’t get multiple calls.”

[Author]

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