North Shore Rescue pulls 2 tourists off Crown Mountain

Two tourists are lucky to be alive after nearly having to spend a night out in the snow on Vancouver's North Shore Mountains.

The duo — a woman from Toronto and a man from Taiwan — were attempting to hike Crown Mountain in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park.

Rescuer Jeff Yarnold said the pair was unfamiliar with the challenging route and unprepared for the snow and sub-zero temperature along the trail.

"They had no idea where they were going. Both from out of town — they found the route on Google basically," 

The trails in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park were closed for the winter on Monday, but Yarnold said it was unclear if the couple set out just before the closure.

Found the route online

Based on comments they read online, the couple thought they could do the hike in about five hours, he said, but they did not account for the winter conditions.

"They were behind schedule. They made it up to Crown Pass just before dark. They took a wrong turn coming down into Crown Creek and they stumbled around for a bit."

When the couple realized they were lost they called 911, and volunteers with the North Shore Rescue team located them using a GPS ping from their cellphone.

"Luckily we found them, probably just before midnight, around 11 o'clock and they were soaking wet, hypothermic, sort of huddled in the side of a creek."

Yarnold said it was a tough night out even for the 14 experienced rescuers, and it took three hours to get the couple warmed up and walk them out.

"It was just brutal for us with the recent snow we have had up there and the temperatures ... They are really appreciative, but people really gotta start paying attention," he said.

"They are lucky they did not die last night."

Thankful to be found

The pair were downloaded from the mountain on the Grouse Mountain tram.

After they were warmed up, both said they were thankful to see the rescuers and had learned their lesson not to head out unprepared.

"We just went hiking and we thought that it was not challenging. Obviously we were wrong, and we just got lost and we could not find the next sign ... We got wet and we got cold very fast," said Yuchang Chong.

"I'm doing well now. Just wanted to say thanks to the North Shore Rescue team ... We learned our lesson. We were not that prepared," said Erika Duhaney.

Rescuers said the couple were surprised by the conditions they encountered and did not have many hiking essentials such as a map, compass, lights, warm clothes or extra food. They also did not tell anyone where they were going.