A pair of overdue hikers have been rescued from Crown Mountain in the third visit to the North Shore peak by search crews in as many days.
The two men had failed to return from a hike on the mountain, just north of Grouse Mountain, at the expected time Sunday.
Mike Danks of North Shore Rescue says the men were quickly located and crews were sent in from Grouse Mountain and Lynne Headwaters at first light Monday.
He says a helicopter long line was used to pluck the climbers from a steep and treacherous area where the two were stranded.
Danks says the men are uninjured but very hypothermic after spending the night on the mountain in a hole they dug in the snow.
North Shore Rescue's first rescue effort on Crown Mountain began at 2 p.m. Saturday when it received a report of an injured hiker.
Then at 3 p.m. Sunday, rescuers were called to save a 63-year-old man who suffered an ankle injury.
North Shore Rescue is warning that despite unseasonably warm weather, there are still pockets of snow on popular hiking routes and they can be treacherous. Temperatures on the North Shore mountains dipped close to freezing overnight.
