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2mo ago

Helicopter Team Uses Night Vision to Rescue Injured Climbers from Yak Peak

Coordinated crews overcame wildfire smoke under darkness through night flying with technical rope pick-offs

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North Shore Rescue was called late in the evening on Aug. 5, 2025 to assist with a rescue at Yak Peak summit just north of Hope, B.C. A climber had fallen and sustained a head injury; the injured climber along with a second climber were hanging in their harnesses on the rock face when rescuers arrived.
A North Shore Rescue team in a Talon Helicopters Ltd. aircraft helped rescue two trapped climbers off Yak Peak.

Overview

  • Late on Aug. 5, two climbers became stranded on Yak Peak’s sheer granite face when one suffered a head injury during a technical ascent.
  • Initial helicopter hoist attempts were called off in deteriorating weather, wildfire smoke and darkness, prompting ground teams from Hope and Chilliwack to set up rope rescue lines.
  • A fresh North Shore Rescue helicopter crew equipped with night vision goggles and a Petzl Lezard rope lanyard executed technical pick-offs to hoist the injured climber first and then his partner.
  • The operation involved North Shore, Hope, Chilliwack and Lions Bay search-and-rescue teams working alongside Talon Helicopter Ltd. technicians.
  • Both climbers were airlifted to the Zopkios parking area for paramedic transfer, and the injured climber’s condition remains unreported.