Injured mountain biker airlifted in Naramata

PENTICTON – A middle-aged man is recovering at Penticton Regional Hospital after wiping out on his mountain bike on one of the Three Blind Mice trails Saturday afternoon.

The man was airlifted out of the popular mountain biking area when Penticton Search and Rescue volunteers determined he might not be able to handle a bumpy ride out on a quad.

“He fell from a mountain bike so there could be spinal injuries,” according to SAR team leader Ryanne Volrich. “He also had tenderness in the kidney area and was in pain. We look at that as a red flag.”

The decision was made to call in a chopper from Eclipse Helicopters.

The SAR team used a long line from the helicopter to fly the patient on a stretcher out of the steep and heavily treed area.

SAR handed the patient over to B.C. Ambulance paramedics at 12:53 p.m. in the lower parking lot at the Popular Grove Winery. He was then driven to the hospital.

Volrich said they’ve been called to the Three Blind Mice mountain bike trail before. The volunteers use the area for training.

“It’s a challenge whenever we go in there because there are so many trails.”