Injured snowmobiler rescued from Graystokes area
A snowmobiler suffered a broken femur and a concussion in the Greystokes area last night
Her partner hauled her from the crash scene to a cabin "a couple kilometres away," where they waited for help, Ed Henczel of Central Okanagan Search and Rescue said.
"He lit a fire and took care of her best as he could," Henczel said, adding that it was around -30 Celsius in the area plus wind chill.
Henczel couldn't say exactly what time the Central Okanagan team was called to the scene. A snowmobile crew from the search and rescue team made it to the cabin around 6 p.m. yesterday, Dec. 21, to get treat her and get her ready for transport, but they needed a helicopter night vision to take her to hospital.
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North Shore Search and Rescue got to the scene near the Hilton Cabin at Graystokes Provincial Park around 7:30 p.m., Henczel said.
The North Shore team's helicopter was able to land in a nearby meadow. It carried the snowmobiler to the Kelowna airport so an ambulance could take her to Kelowna General Hospital.
"It was really efficient," Henczel said of the rescue effort.
The North Shore rescue helicopter, while equipped with night vision, couldn't land at the Kelowna hospital because it only has one engine. To land on the hospital, helicopters must have two engines, which is common for most rooftop landing pads, Henczel said.
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