A snap snow and rain storm on July 12 left many backcountry hikers in perilous conditions last week, resulting in several rescues by Parks Canada staff.

The backcountry conditions quickly deteriorated, and many hikers found themselves wet, cold and unable to continue. Parks Canada’s visitor safety specialists received many calls for assistance following the summer snowstorm. 

“We had poor weather,” said Rupert Wedgwood, visitor safety specialist for Parks Canada.

On Tuesday, July 13, visitor safety specialists responded to a report of hikers in distress near Maligne Lake. 

A group of four hikers in their 50s from Red Deer had come across three German hikers in their sixties that were struggling in the cold, rainy weather by the lake. One of the group of four called for help to assist the group of three. 

“He was concerned about the condition of this other group of three they had hooked up with,” Wedgwood said. 

On that day, 50mm of rain had fallen in the town alone, and the backcountry was quickly becoming covered in snow. 

“They were in deep snow,” Wedgwood said of the group of seven. 

Freezing temperatures started at about the treeline, and the group of seven people were well up in the alpine. 

By the second day, the group was still suffering from the cold, spurring Parks to send in two ground crews, one from Signal Mountain, and one from Maligne Lake, in hopes of meeting up with the group on the Skyline trail. 

Without the group’s proper co-ordinates, the search crews were unable to locate them, but the condition of other hikers in the area became an even greater concern. 

“We weren’t sure how many others were in the same conditions on the trail,” Wedgwood said. “We were juggling a number of other incidents at the time.”

The snow and temperatures were beginning to create an avalanche danger as well. 

“This was an unusual amount of snow,” Wedgwood said. He estimates areas where the snow had drifted to about one metre high, with an average of 35cm elsewhere. 

Because of the conditions, a waiting helicopter was unable to lift off to scout out the hikers for a potential rescue.

“We made several attempts to fly up into the alpine,” Wedgwood said. Also on standby was a search dog and team. 

Altogether there were 20 people involved in the search efforts. 

“It was very hard going as you can imagine,” Wedgwood said. “The teams were eventually driven back by the weather.”

While ground crews attempted to forge on through the snow, Wedgwood said they continued communicating with the group of seven hikers. 

“We knew their condition was deteriorating,” he said. It became apparent that they would be unable to continue under their own power. 

Towards the end of the day, the helicopter pilot finally saw a break in the weather. The chopper pilot was able to lift off along with one other person to help in the search in order to keep the weight of the aircraft down. They brought dry clothes for the group and equipment to stay overnight if necessary. 

In two flights, they managed to extract the seven people off the trail. During the second flight, the weather changed again, and the group was forced to hike down a difficult slope to a safer area for a rescue. 

“The group was very wet and cold,” Wedgwood said. Luckily, there were no injuries and none were suffering from hypothermia. 

“It’s possible they could have become hypothermic if we hadn’t gotten them by the morning,” Wedgwood said. 

After the successful rescue, the search crews continued to scour the Skyline trail on Wednesday morning to ensure everyone had made it safely off the trails. They also searched the Maligne Pass and the Jonas Shoulder and Pass. 

Another group of hikers ages 50 to 60 had to be evacuated from the Skyline on Wednesday.

On that day visitor safety specialists were also removing wet, cold campers, canoers and kayakers from Maligne Lake. More than a dozen people were reported as having problems related to the weather. Winds had whipped up waves on the lake in addition to the snow. 

Wedgwood said the conditions on Maligne Lake would have been hard on inexperienced paddlers. 

Visitor safety specialists tracked cars in the parking lots of major trailheads to make sure those on tougher hikes had made it back out. They put an emphasis on those whose reported route followed a pass. 

“People were reporting concerns for groups they’d come across,” Wedgwood said. 

Another event involved a woman who, upon checking the weather conditions, decided to go it alone up Old Man Mountain. As she approached the summit after hiking the majority of the trail in the rain, the weather suddenly changed to a fierce snowstorm with howling winds. 

“The forecast was calling for deteriorating weather,” Wedgwood said. 

The woman sent a text message to a friend to inform her of her predicament, and began working her way back down the trail – which was now covered by snow. 

The friend called 911, and Parks Canada was able to get a hold of the woman on her cell phone. They continued to call the woman every half hour, and advised her to stop and stay put if she ran into any trouble, or could not recognize the trail. A search crew was on standby in case the woman needed further assistance. 

“She continued her way down, and ended up making her way out just fine,” Wedgwood said. 

The woman was not equipped with a map, GPS or compass, Wedgwood said. Her only safety gear turned out to be her cell phone. 

“Really the take home story is don’t go out by yourself,” Wedgwood said, adding that being fully prepared with the proper safety equipment can help as well. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, Wedgwood said the backcountry was still a popular choice for hikers. 

As the temperature rose towards the end of the week, Wedgwood said the avalanche situation continued to get worse. The temperature above the treeline had risen to 13 C by Wednesday afternoon. Adding to the problem was rainfall which had added to local rivers. 

“We know the rivers are swollen,” he said. “The rapid increase in temperature is going to result in some avalanche activity.”

For those who intend to head to the backcountry, Wedgwood encourages hikers to check in with the trail office to report your route, keep an eye on the ever-changing weather, and to be fully prepared for any possible change in weather. Bringing along overnight gear is recommended as well, even if your intended route will not see you spending the night.