North Shore Rescue volunteers successfully save hiker stranded over Christmas night

North Shore Rescue (NSR) crews spent Christmas night saving a stranded hiker from a mountain top amid snow, wind, freezing temperatures, and avalanche risk.

In a post to social media around 9 p.m. Thursday, NSR announced it had been called to St. Mark’s Summit on Cypress Mountain after a hiker had reported herself lost in an off-trail gully.

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“The hiker reported she is hypothermic and not prepared to spend the night out,” NSR added.

Images from the rescue show volunteers marching through knee-deep and falling snow, while testing for avalanche conditions.

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“As always – before all rescues in avalanche terrain – we are having an Avalanche Operations Plan created by a Level 2 Avalanche Forecaster,” the post explained.

NSR says the cloud cover in the area was too low to fly a helicopter for the rescue.

In an update Friday, NSR reported finding the lost hiker around 2 a.m., noting that the rescue would still be “an all nighter.”

In a later update, NSR said the crew had warmed her and brought the hiker to the trail head by 6:30 a.m.