The 61-year-old man was severely injured, suffering damage to his head and body, but as of press time is alive, according to MRC des Collines Police spokesperson Martin Fournel.

MRC des Collines Police got the call for help at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday from another individual who paragliding with the victim.

An officer responded immediately, and with the help of two locals, was guided up the escarpment. The MoP Fire Department, National Captial Commission (NCC) conservation officers and a special unit of the Ottawa Fire Department were also present at the scene.

The first responders determined that the man could not be evacuated down the cliff by foot and instead opted to call in a helicopter from Sûreté du Québec. The man was successfully evacuated and brought to a Gatineau hospital after 4 hours. He remains in critical condition.

Police are still investigating the cause of the accident, as whether it was caused by the wind, faulty equipment or an error by the paraglider is unclear.

Paragliding is banned in the area by the NCC, however MRC des Collines Police say it is not their jurisdiction to monitor. NCC representatives didn’t respond to our request on how the ban is enforced before press time.

Local heroes

The two locals who aided first were Rae and Tait Becke, siblings who live on Venturing Hills Farm at the base of the cliffs. The two played a vital role in getting the victim off the mountain, according to to Fournel.

THE EQUITY interviewed both siblings about what transpired that afternoon. Both Rae and Tait said they were on their property when the police arrived.

“My dad noticed that there had been a paraglider up in the air as he was walking down to come and see me and then when he looked back he was gone, so the paraglider had crashed,” Rae said. “The police said they needed to get up to him as quickly as possible, and that they did not know the trail or the area that well so my dad asked if I could take them up the mountain.”

Fortunately for the police, Rae was very well prepared for the circumstances. Rae has undergone an 80-hour Wilderness First Responder Training, basic first aid, and a Trained Top Rope Climbing Instructor course with the Association of Mountain Guides of Canada. She also has lifetime experience with the geography of the area and in-depth experience with climbing and extreme sports.

“I know every peak, I know this entire mountain like it’s the back of my hand on this side,” Rae said.

Rae described how she quickly got herself organized, as she knew exactly how to get to where the man had crashed and what trail to use to get there. She grabbed her rock climbing gear, a backpack for the police to carry their first aid kit and led them up the mountain. She states she advised the police to bring caution tape to mark the trail for other first responders.

Tait was just returning from training for a marathon when the incident happened and took another group of police up after his sister.

“I was out for a run, and as I came back a police car passed me. My dad said ‘there was a guy who crashed on the mountain and you have to bring the police officers up to his location’,” Tait said. “So I kind of just kept on running. We basically took off up the mountain. I didn’t know that my sister was already ahead of us a little and we ended up catching up with her.”

Rae explained she led the officers to the base of the cliff where the man had crashed. She said he was hanging from the paraglider while his fellow paraglider was holding him against the rock.

“We were at the base of the cliff and he was about halfway up it or maybe even just a third of the way up and it was pretty difficult terrain to get to him because the rocks were really wet and pretty steep,” Rae said.

Rae said her first task was to make sure that the man was properly secure so she climbed up and began securing him using trees as supports. She also tied the ropes to allow first responders and their equipment to get the man.

“There was a lot that we needed to do and we didn’t have very much space to do it or very much mobility because we’re on the side of a cliff,” Rae said.

“My sister was with the guy the whole time and taking care of him, making sure he didn’t stop breathing and everything like that. I was more like kind of the errand guy, to be honest,” Tait said. “I would kind of run down the mountain and grab whatever they needed.”

“My brother was basically a hero,” Rae said. “He had just got back from like a 15-kilometre run and then brought the police officers up and then he ran back down the mountain to get more people to bring them back up. Then he was asked to bring oxygen tanks at one point when we were running really low on oxygen and like desperately needed to keep the man comfortable and breathing. So he ran back down the mountain the third time and got the oxygen and got it back up to us just in time so that we could switch them over. So a lot of running after a 15k. Thank God he’s training for a marathon.”

“I run the mountain once or twice a week. Maybe more sometimes. I’m there all the time so it was a comfortable situation,” Tait said.

Rae described that once the helicopter was on its way the paramedics had to get the victim prepped for the air evacuation. She explained how the special unit for the Ottawa Fire Department began clearing a space for the helicopter to land while she and the paramedics ensured the victim was made ready for the evac, which was difficult given the environment.

“Everybody had all these different dispatchers yelling at them over their radios and everything sounded like it was crackling,” Rae said. “I don’t even know how they heard what they were saying. But everybody was like taking in what they were being told and then communicating with each other. It was a pretty impressive thing to watch. Like everyone was very clearly well-trained and good at their jobs.”

Both siblings said at the time were laser-focused on saving the victim.

“Mostly, all I was thinking was: everybody’s doing their jobs,” Rae said. “And if everybody’s doing their jobs and everybody is running to try to get something done right now, it’s because we still have a chance. There was so much happening and so much activity and so many people involved, so just keep doing whatever you can to keep giving this guy a chance.”

Rae states that despite the display of professionalism and skill the first responders showed, she believes Gatineau Park and the Outaouais in general needs a dedicated team of first responders.

“We need to make sure that our support services are also the best which I think needs to change from what it is right now,” Rae said. “Because it shouldn’t be the Ottawa Fire Department coming to help us. There should be a local support team that has a quicker response time.”

She concluded by saying that the park is there for people to explore and play in, which requires a better support team to help out in situations like this.

“It shouldn’t take locals to show you the trails,” Rae said. “There’s an NCC access point directly beside our farm and it’s that access point that people are using to go up into the mountain. That means that the NCC’s job is to know these trails and to be able to help in that situation. I really don’t think that every single person that works in the NCC and is coming around here knows these trails and they should.”

Rae Becke, one of the two siblings who helped rescue the stranded paraglider, climbing a mountain. “I know I did everything that I knew how to do. So that feels good,” she said about her efforts last Thursday.

Register or subscribe to read this content

Thanks for stopping by! This article is available to readers who have created a free account or who subscribe to The Equity.

When you register for free with your email, you get access to a limited number of stories at no cost. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access to everything we publish—and directly support quality local journalism here in the Pontiac.

Register or Subscribe Today!