The injury of a Washington State man who had to be rescued by helicopter on the weekend has put the safety of the sport of BASE jumping from the Stawamus Chief in the spotlight for the second time in the past two years.
The 48-year-old suffered undisclosed injuries when he and his parachute landed in a treed area, possibly after being blown off course, after he jumped off the Chief on Saturday (May 12), RCMP Sgt. Wayne Pride said in a statement.
The situation, first reported to police at 11:20 a.m., prompted a response from Squamish Fire Rescue, B.C. Ambulance and Squamish Search and Rescue (SSAR), Pride said.
“Possibly blown off course by winds, the victim struck trees on his descent and landed in a forested area,” he said. SSAR officials oversaw a long-line helicopter rescue of the victim, who was taken to Squamish General Hospital to be treated for his injuries.
After two similar incidents involving people BASE (buildings, antennas, spans and earth) jumping from the Chief in 2010, then-mayor Greg Gardner called for the B.C. government to enact a ban on BASE jumping from the granite monolith because of the safety of jumping in Squamish’s tricky, gusty wind conditions.
Items stolen from vehicles
For the second straight week, police dealt with several vehicle break-ins and thefts during the past week, some of them possibly related.
Last Tuesday (May 8), RCMP received a report of a theft from a vehicle that had occurred the previous day. The vehicle was parked on Cleveland Avenue while the occupant visited the bank, leaving the vehicle unlocked, Pride said. When the man returned a backpack containing an Acer laptop computer, a Samsung digital camera and an IPod had been stolen.
Also on Tuesday, police received a number of complaints of vehicles have been broken into overnight in the 2300 block of Mamquam Road. One vehicle had its lock popped off of a passenger-side door; on three others, entry was gained by damaging vehicle windows. Stolen were stereo equipment, a GPS unit and two Bluetooths. Ignitions were also tampered with, Pride said.
Another vehicle in the 40000 block of Kalodon Road was broken into overnight. In this instance a passenger window was broken and a gym bag containing clothing was stolen.
Cylinders stolen
A business in the 1500 block of Pemberton Avenue was broken into overnight last Tuesday-Wednesday (May 8 and 9). A fence was cut and three acetylene cylinders valued at $400 each were stolen.
Man assaulted
Last Thursday (May 10) at around 4:30 a.m., police responded to a report of an incident involving a male screaming and threatening to hit others with a bat. At the scene, police located a 27-year-old man who said he had been assaulted by two males, one of whom had wielded a bat. The two had come to the home wearing dark clothing and balaclavas, both around 5 feet, 9 inches tall with slim builds. The man’s injuries did not require medical attention and nothing was stolen, Pride said.
Mail stolen
On Friday (May 11), police received a report that 18 mailboxes at the Viking Ridge complex in the 40000 block of Government Road had been pried open and contents stolen. The incident occurred the between the previous Sunday night and Monday morning.
Glass door broken
Police responded to a business alarm on Saturday (May 12) at 5 a.m. to find that a rock had been thrown through the glass front door of a business in the 38000 block of Cleveland Avenue. Nothing appears to have been stolen and Pride speculated that the suspect(s) was scared off by the alarm.
Lockers broken into
On Saturday, police received a report of several storage lockers at a residential complex in the 39000 block of Government Road having been broken into. The locks had been cut and police are waiting for the lockers’ owners to provide a list of what was stolen, Pride said.
