Steep terrain and bad weather are hampering efforts by rescue units to extract an injured hiker from Mount Arrowmith.
A man and his wife were hiking on Mt. Arrowsmith on Saturday when the man fell and broke his ankle, RCMP Cpl. Brady Mathison said.
Alberni Valley Rescue Squad members responded to 911 calls from the man's wife just before 5 p.m. They found the victim just before 8 p.m., Mathison said.
A Cormorant helicopter was called in from 19 Wing Comox to help retrieve the man but bad weather and darkness made the operation too dangerous to attempt so the man and rescuers had to stay overnight on the mountain, he said.
Further attempts were made Sunday to get the man out but the terrain and weather were yet proving to be too treacherous for a successful extraction, Mathison said.
“They're still about another six hours from getting him out,” he said.
Rescue squads from other parts of the Island have been called in, Mathison said.
Six members of the Beaver Creek department were called to respond to the scene on Sunday afternoon.
“They're all trained in low-slope rope rescue rescue and they're young and fit,” Beaver Creek Fire Department Chief Charlie Starratt said.
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