B.C. search and rescue teams respond to more than a dozen calls over Canada Day long weekend

It's been a busy Canada Day long weekend for search and rescue teams around Metro Vancouver. 

North Shore Rescue crews responded to a call at 9 a.m. Monday about two lost hikers on Grouse Mountain and reports that one of them was stuck on a cliff on the south side of the mountain.  

"They didn't know exactly where they were and they were on steep terrain, they were afraid of falling," said Stan Sovdat, NSR search manager. 

Two ground search teams were sent out with rough co-ordinates of the hikers' location based on their cell phone call. 

The pair were found and taken to safety within a couple hours. 

Sovdat said the hikers did the right thing by calling for help and staying put but were not prepared for the hike. They did not have water, food, appropriate clothing or a flashlight, he said. 

The latest rescue is one of many this weekend for teams across the region.  

NSR responded to four calls on Sunday, including a longline helicopter rescue of an injured hiker from Norvan Falls in North Vancouver at noon. 

The man had fallen and suffered a serious head injury.

NSR was also involved in an earlier helicopter longline rescue at noon Sunday in Lions Bay, where a hiker had fallen near the Lions peaks on Binkert Trail and sustained an open leg fracture. 

• Behind-the-scenes with search and rescue

Lions Bay SAR also responded to a call about a stuck hiker near Hat Mountain.

Along with NSR and other teams from the region, they also banded together on Saturday to help Squamish SAR look for a dirt biker who went missing overnight. The biker was found alive later that day. 

"We've had a number of calls," said Sovdat, with NSR. "And we'll probably have a number more [today]." 

Jeff Yarnold, NSR air operations co-ordinator, said it was a busy weekend for search and rescue crews across the Lower Mainland.

"Everybody's been going pretty flat out," said Yarnold.

Coquitlam SAR responded to three calls over the weekend, including the rescue of two hikers who were stranded atop Mount Beautiful near Buntzen Lake. 

Ridge Meadows SAR responded to four calls in Golden Ears Provincial Park on Sunday alone.

Their calls over the weekend included two teenage canoeists who were overdue but found safe, a hiker who was lost and another hiker who was injured. 

The team also responded to a call about two people who had gone over Lower Falls and suffered significant injuries. The pair were transported to hospital by ambulance.