U.S. man walks to safety after cold, wet night near Mt. Washington

A 20-year-old New Mexico man was cold, wet and wearing shorts but still able to walk to safety Monday after a planned Sunday day hike up Mount Albert Edward went awry.

Paul Berry of Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue said the man got lost and was not prepared for the conditions.

“When he popped out he didn’t even have a shirt on,” he said. “He was pretty scraped up and mildly hypothermic.”

He did have hiking boots, but discarded his jacket after falling into a lake just before he emerged from his ordeal.

It began with a plan to spend a day in nature.

“He departed the parking lot at Raven Lodge on Mount Washington at about 6:30 Sunday morning, intending to hike and summit Mount Albert Edward and come out on the same day — which is doable,” said Berry. “However he failed to return back to his condo on Mount Washington in the evening.”

The man is in the area working on Mount Washington’s new zipline, Berry said. His work friends and Mount Washington staff initiated a search at first light on Monday.

The Comox rescue group was called about 9 a.m., responding with a helicopter and bringing in assistance from the Campbell River, Comox Valley and Arrowsmith search-and-rescue teams.

“We first inserted a team with a canine on Mount Albert Edward and were following tracks in the snow,” Berry said.

“Then about noon, he walked himself out into one of the logging areas on Mount Washington.”

He had managed to get a bit of sleep during the night, Berry said.

“He did have one of those foil space blankets, but that’s all he had. That wouldn’t have kept him very warm.”

The man encountered about 15 centimetres of fresh snow in the high alpine, Berry said.

“He did come off the high alpine and into the trees trying to get out of the weather.”

Berry said the man was grateful for the response from searchand-rescue volunteers.