Squamish RCMP say a seven-year-old has died on the North Shore Mountains.
Police have yet to release many details, but say the girl, who was with family, died on Unnecessary Mountain in Lions Bay.
They have not revealed her name or hometown.
BC Ambulance says it responded to a call at 10:14 a.m. of someone trapped under a rock at Lone Tree creek area, but did not transport anyone out of the area.
The BC Coroners Service is also investigating.


The above taken from the CKNW web site.

That's crazy. The whole story with updates here:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...-b-c-1.2881775

UPDATE from another source:

"It looked like she'd been buried in a small slide on the edge of a creek bank, and it looked like a whole chunk of it gave away while she was standing on it because it was waterlogged, presumably," said Martin Colwell, search manager for Lions Bay Search and Rescue Society. Colwell and Danks both said hikers need to use caution around slopes and banks during wet weather, which can become saturated and unstable.

"We need to be very aware of our surroundings," Danks said.

"They did nothing wrong - this could have happened to anyone - but just to be aware."


Read more:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/met...#ixzz3Mg317cgh

So sad to hear about this and my heart goes out to her family and those that were hiking with her.

I'm curious which trail they were on. The CBC article says they were on a new trail that is a 10km loop. The Unnecessary Mountain Trail doesn't go as far south as Lonetree Creek so I'm guessing they were on some trail I've never heard of. Any body know? Is it a Lions Bay secret? Or is this just another case of the media getting the trail info wrong?

Thx for posting the info. Couldn't imagine anything more devastating. It seems surreal that something like this could happen. Tragic and puzzling. Sounds like a new trail?

Some info on this can be found on this trip report at the beginning:

https://forums.clubtread.com/27-briti...04-2012-a.html

I guess if you miss the left turn you end up there. Never been up that way so i don't know if that trail is new or older.

A loop trail was put in some years back. The descent to Lone Tree Creek was always tricky. The recent heavy rains washed away the bridge crossing the creek and scoured its banks, obviously causing instability. This is one of those terrible events that can overtake any of us, hiking our mountains or working in our own backyards. A sad day indeed.

In this case, why would the parents want to bring their 7 year old with them? I think that responsible back country travelers should be aware of potential objective hazards and avoid them as much as possible especially when hiking with children. This tragic accident should not have happened.

Truly a tragic event; sad to have such a young life ended. As noted above, we all most be aware and alert to our surroundings in times of bad weather...

flooding, unstable banks... and falling trees during strong winds. to name a few....

K

kind of agree, but a seemingly innocent walk can turn into a more adventurous hike within minutes and in a short distance. many newcomers to outback travel ( if they were) may not have realized in time what situation they were suddenly in

@alpinehiker

Right, and I probably shouldn't let my kids cross the street for fear of being struck by a car. It's tragic. It's an accident plain and simple. You're ridiculous.

its a bit more complicated than that though, a busy street is an obvious gamble where care and mathematical assessment needs to be taken. 7 year olds should not cross complex multi lane highways, compared to back alleys, which is a better stating point.


A saturated hillside or swollen creek bed in some areas are time bombs that are not as obvious and can catch many off guard young or old.

Relax bro it was just my opinion, let your kids do all they want. I have 3 kids as well, two of them about the same age of the girl who died. My point was that i wouldn't intentionally bring my kids in a possible hazardous terrain, kids like to play and run around and don't pay attention to their surroundings.

Hey, maybe next time you go to Everest, don't forget to take your kids with you. Just tell them to be careful when they cross the khumbu Icefall, the seracs are kinda unstable there.

Anyways a quick update to the story:

Lions Bay mayor Karl Buhr said the girl, her mother and an older sibling were part of a group of 20 people hiking on Unnecessary Mountain when tragedy struck.

“There was a group of kids in the group that walked across a boulder, which gave way when the last kid walked across,” said Buhr.

The girl was struck by rocks and boulders and buried in the debris in the ensuing slide.

“It looked like a whole chunk of it gave away while she was standing on it because it was waterlogged, presumably,” said Martin Colwell, search manager for Lions Bay Search and Rescue Society, which received a call about the accident around 10:15 a.m.

http://www.theprovince.com/Girl+kill...096/story.html

I keep trying to imagine a water logged boulder...unless they meant the embankment or a large chunk of stump and earth that looked like a boulder but was really rotten wood debris.

@alpinehiker

Only an idiot would let fly with an opinion casting blame on a tragedy, the worst thing a parent can face, based on an incomplete news account.

@ tu

Ok Einstein. Hey, listen, if you don't like somebody's opinion you don't have to call them idiots. What would you have said to your best friend or your wife if lets say they would have replied to this article in the same way as i did.