On Friday, Fernie Search and Rescue (SAR) was tasked by the RCMP in response to a hiker with a badly injured lower leg.
Location of the subject and his two hiking companions was made easy as GPS coordinates were available as fellow hikers had an inReach Personal Locator Beacon, said Fernie SAR on its Facebook page.
An initial team accessed the subject via Ascent Helicopters Ltd on the Silver Springs hiking trail, near to the third lake. After assessing and stabilizing the injury, the team was able to transport the subject to a suitable nearby landing zone, where he was then transported to a helicopter base and handed over to BC Ambulance Service.
In the event the helicopter extraction was impossible, a ground team was staged at Elko and was ready to transport the subject out on a wheeled stretcher.