Another mountain goat hunter dies

[tuffcity]

In the news this morning

Nakusp RCMP and B.C. Coroners Service are investigating after a North Vancouver man fell to his death in the Kootenays.

The incident happened Wednesday afternoon while the victim and a friend were hunting mountain goats on a steep mountainside.

According to the investigators, the man lost his footing in bad terrain and fell 150 metres down a cliff where he succumbed to his injuries. His hunting partner, a Vernon resident, called 9-1-1.

Arrow Lakes Search and Rescue volunteers were called in to help retrieve the man’s body but police called off the search due to darkness. They returned Thursday with a helicopter and long-line rescue team from Revelstoke.

“The terrain in the area was quite treacherous and slippery due to the cold weather. Foul play is not suspected,” an RCMP press release from Sgt. Darryl Little stated.

Though his immediate family members have been notified, authorities are not identifying the man until all of his extended family has been informed, according to the coroner.

The coroner’s service will continue to investigate the cause of death.

The 54-year-old victim’s family is being offered help from the North Vancouver RCMP’s victim services unit.

A tough year on hunters...

RC

 

[realunlucky]

Terrible news really makes you reflect on what your doing and why

 

[Bighorse]

I've done many sucessful Mt Goat hunts and in the interest of hunter safety I write this.

Technical terrain should always be looked at with an eye towards failure. If the price of failure is too high don't do it.

Go down the same way you came up

If you end up decending different from you accent and are uncertain about the terrain, drop your heavy pack, and scout it out. Cut a well marked route if necessary. Dig out footholds. Work so that every foot hold looks optimal. If you can't visualize complete success you shouldn't be there.

Use safety equipment. Think ahead honestly about your hunt. If it's technical than get training or a skilled partner that can assist you with decisions and equipment. If you've scouted an area ahead of time and notice a risky area, hang safety lines.

Don't shoot goats with a high probablility of a sketchy recovery. I say probability because I understand the fickle nature of post shot sequence.

Lash your axe to you body. When you fall and start sliding it will break free.

When decending, if you are heavy with meat don't attempt technical terrain. Climb down without weight and have your partner lower heavy packs with a line. If solo, secure your pack down well and lower it ahead of you. It's slow and laborous but the most secure way to negociate steep areas.

The above advice applies to all species of game............Best wishes for safety and success!

 

[Stid2677]

The above is excellent advice, I will only add be prepared to spend the night and so the decent can be made well rested in daylight. I make poor decisions when I get cold, wet and tired, this often leads me to make a series of small errors that can snowball.

Prayers for the hunter and his family.

 

[Ironman8]

I'm a novice in the mountains compared to you guys with only one elk hunt under my belt, but I noticed something on my hunt this year that I think would apply to all. I was navigating some pretty rough terrain in Idaho that included blowdown, loose rock, and a particular boulder field about a half mile long and learned a lot in doing so. I'm a young, athletic guy who played college sports and worked a ton on footwork, thus I have pretty good balance and quick feet that allowed me to stay upright in some of this terrain. However, when I kept pushing through and started to get tired, I noticed my footwork start to get sloppy to the point that I was tripping over things that I really shouldn't have been. I wasn't in danger of falling over a cliff, but if I had been, I would have definitely taken more breaks. Up in goat country, with the technical terrain that you might encounter, I would imagine it is amplified tenfold. And I'm sure I'm just preaching to the choir here, but just thought I'd share my little experience.

Prayers out for the family and friends. :/

 

[bcimport]

Lots of good advice here. I was out solo for goats last weekend, had a blizzard and cold warning. Limited time dictated that I give it a shot. The one time the clouds lifted I got on 6 goats, one a nice billy. A three hour 2000' climb later I was looking at the goats at 50 yards, looking at all my tracks blown in, cramping legs and chilled to the core. I took a photo and turned around, couldn't convince myself that I could get a goat butchered and out of there without freezing or falling. Felt bad about it at the time but seeing what else happened last week with BC goat hunters I think it was the right choice.

Lesson learned though, I need a real set of crampons, the micro spikes wouldn't stay put when pushed hard in the steeps.

 

[Bighorse]

Good choice....The goats are still on the hill and I'm sure you will be again too. Microspikes are only good for tame trails in my opinion. That real nice billy will be there again for the taking. Solo processing a goat in the cold after an agressive 2,000 vertical is fatique inducing, period! The fact that the climb took three hours speaks to the severity of the conditions. Enjoy the pursuit and someday when your sitting with that big bill you'll know in your heart what you sacrificed for the moment.