Picture the scene: night on a sheer granite wall in Squamish, British Columbia, a climber perched 77 metres above the ground, clipped to an anchor — and holding no rope. That was the situation Squamish Search and Rescue faced on a recent Wednesday night, and the way they solved it points to where mountain rescue is heading.
The stranded climber was on Alaska Highway, a demanding 176-metre route graded 5.11+ on the Stawamus Chief. The American Alpine Club describes its five pitches as an imposing, strenuous system of overhanging corners, cracks and chimneys — hard ground at the best of times, let alone in darkness with rockfall a real risk. Rather than send rescuers up the wall, the team turned to two cargo drones, in what was the first major mission for the SAR's drone team after months of training.
The operation was elegantly simple. One drone hung back with a powerful lamp, lighting the wall and filming continuously so ground crews could track the climber's every move. The second flew in a jacket to keep him warm, plus a messenger line — a featherweight cord the climber used to haul up a proper climbing rope from below. He then rappelled down under his own power. No rescuer had to leave the ground.
So how does someone end up stranded mid-wall without a rope? SAR drone operator Dustin Wales told CTV News the climber had a mishap with his climbing partner and was left ropeless against the face. He wasn't soloing — just, at some point, no longer connected to the gear that would have got him down.
The setting is no minor crag. The Stawamus Chief, known simply as The Chief, is one of the largest granite domes on the planet and a genuine climbing mecca. It packs in hundreds of routes across every style and difficulty, from bouldering problems to full trad lines stretching up to 700 metres.
Why should a holidaymaker care? Squamish has quietly become one of North America's great adventure towns, an easy detour on the spectacular Sea-to-Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler. Even if you never touch a rope, the Chief towers over town with hiking trails to its summits, and the surrounding area serves up mountain biking, Shannon Falls and a lively strip of cafes and breweries. And if you do climb there, this story is a useful reminder: double-check your anchor handovers with your partner, because even strong climbers on hard routes can end up stuck. It's also a quietly reassuring sign that the local rescue service has some seriously modern tools at its disposal.