My Family is Crazy...in the good kind of way!!

My cousins in Canada have always been known to ski outside of the boundaries, if you know what I mean. Praise the Lord they are both ok. I know they will both be out doing something just as crazy, if not crazier, very soon.

Paraglider crash puts man in the woods for a night

James Weldon, North Shore News
Published: Sunday, November 02, 2008

A North Vancouver man was forced to spend the night huddled inside his paraglider in the woods north of Indian Arm after a mishap on take-off sent him hurtling into a rock face and left him unable to get back to civilization.

The man, in his 20s, was at the top of Mt. Bonnycastle about 15 kilometres north of the inlet on the afternoon of Oct. 26 when the accident occurred. He and his brother had travelled by boat and mountain bike and then by foot to reach the peak and paraglide from the top. The victim's brother took off successfully, but when the victim attempted to follow him, one of his ropes got tangled, sending him off course.

The man slammed into some rocks and tumbled to the ground, injuring his jaw and wrist and leaving him in shock. He radioed his brother, who had landed safely a significant distance away, and told him to get help.

Both men were out of cell range, so the uninjured brother set off southward to find coverage. Over several hours, he made his way to his bike, rode to the tip of the inlet, recovered their boat and piloted it south, all the while unable to make a call out.

While this was underway, the injured man recovered somewhat and scrambled down a scree slope to the edge of Barnes Lake, where, miraculously, he managed to get a signal. It was about 5:30 p.m. when the victim phoned 9-1-1, giving them a very brief rundown of his situation before the call was lost. The message was passed on to North Shore Rescue, who immediately launched a search.

Rescuers knew the man was north of Indian Arm, but they knew nothing about his injuries or precise location. Unable to reach his cell, they hatched a plan to search for the victim by helicopter.

But by the time a chopper had been scrambled, the light was already failing and the flight had to be called off.

Fortunately, at about 6:45 p.m., the team managed to get a call through to the victim. They established more clearly where he was, and talked the man through a self-assessment to determine the extent of his injuries. When it became clear the wounds were not life-threatening and that the victim was well-equipped, they advised him to stay put for the night. Not long after, the rescuers made contact with his brother, who was still making his way back down Indian Arm. They informed him the victim was fine and that help was on the way.

The injured man, who had come well prepared with a down jacket, toque and other clothing, wrapped himself in his parachute and settled in. At 4,000 feet above sea level, he was in for a cold night.

At first light, North Shore Rescue once again sprang into action. They called the victim once again, and a team piled into a helicopter and flew to his location. They located the man, loaded him into the vehicle, and transported him back to North Shore Rescue's Bone Creek Station.

There he was met by his brother and driven to Lions Gate Hospital. The man is expected to recover.

http://www.canada.com/northshorenews/news/story.html?id=3bab0b3a-b6b0-489e-8931-1b6d56a6085f