WATERTON — A helicopter crew had to rescue a hiker who fell while climbing in darkness in Waterton Lakes National Park.
It started at 3 a.m. Sunday, when two men from Lethbridge reported a friend they were hiking with did not show up at their vehicle.
Parks Canada spokesman Jon Stuart-Smith says the injured man is an exchange student from Germany.
He says the three attempted hiking to Mount Rowe, then went on to scramble up Mount Hawkins and went down into Lineham Basin to get back to their vehicle.
But while hiking out of the basin, Stuart-Smith says one hiker split from the others and it appears he slipped and fell about three metres, injuring his head.
Stuart-Smith would not release the names of the hikers.
The injured hiker was taken out on an airborne sling, then transferred to a ground ambulance and taken to the hospital in Cardston, where he was treated and released.
The rescue was this year’s first involving a helicopter, Stuart-Smith said, adding parks personnel have been called to find other lost, uninjured visitors earlier this summer.
Pilots with an aviation company based in Cranbrook have been trained to assist parks staff at Waterton.
The hikers’ mistake was splitting up, said Stuart-Smith.
“They did a lot of other things right.”
There’s no cellphone reception in that part of the park, but some hikers carry satellite-based “spot receivers” to summon help in an emergency, he said.
Officials don’t recommend hiking in the mountains at night and recommend everyone setting out on a long trip carry flashlights.