Update: Bystander recounts helping stranded BASE jumper rescued by SAR

Zach Mayne helped rescue his friend who was stranded on Slhanay Mountain after her BASE jump went wrong on July 13. Squamish Search and Rescue and North Shore Rescue also aided her.

--Update, July 16, 9:30 a.m.-- Squamish BASE jumper Zach Mayne was on the scene July 13 when his friend crashed into Slhanay Mountain while BASE jumping. "Having experienced being stranded on that mountain myself, I know better than most what it feels like to be alone up there as the sun starts to set. Because of that, I wanted to get to her as quickly as I could," he said in a statement to The Squamish Chief.

In November, 2025, Mayne was rescued by Squamish SAR after his jump went sideways. "Once I reached her, my priority was making sure she was safe. I secured her to myself, eventually took her full weight, and was able to get a rope attached to her harness so we could begin getting her to safety.

I’m incredibly grateful that the situation ended without serious injury," he said. The location of the jump, according to Mayne, is the most frequented area for BASE jumping in Squamish. Because it is so often used, that is why the location has been in the news of late.

"The public usually only hears about the incidents that make the news, while the vast majority of jumps happen without issue and go completely unnoticed," he said. He reiterated the sport is not without risk, and that all jumps require careful preparation, judgment and experience. Mayne aims to showcase how jumps can go right from Slhanay this fall, as he is organizing a fundraising event called 22 Jumps at the same exit point this fall.

"While the number of jumps may sound extreme from the outside, the event is being organized to demonstrate that, when approached responsibly, multiple jumps can be conducted safely while raising meaningful support for search and rescue, first responders, and veterans." —Original: July 14— Squamish Search and Rescue (SAR) responded to a callout for a stranded BASE jumper from Slhanay Mountain on Monday, July 13. Squamish SAR member Christy Allan told The Squamish Chief the call came in after two previous responses on the same day.

“A late-night callout after two other calls yesterday had our team working high above Valleycliffe as a small team of rope rescue technicians was inserted by helicopter onto the Slhanay to rescue a stranded BASE jumper,” she wrote. A crew of 25 members responded, plus mutual aid volunteers from North Shore Rescue, she said. “Using a helicopter hoist, North Shore Rescue inserted our technicians into steep terrain where they along with a team that hiked up were able to safely reach the subject, build a technical rope rescue system, and lower them to a location where they could be extracted.”

The helicopter was spotted near the Stawamus Chief around 10:30 p.m. last night by nearby residents who contacted The Squamish Chief. The rescue was complete by 2:30 a.m., and Squamish SAR says the stranded jumper was kept safe thanks to a friend on the scene who secured their parachute, aiding their safety as rescue crews worked to reach them. Allan said the subject luckily walked away with “only minor scratches” and didn’t need further medical aid.

“Many Valleycliffe residents noticed the helicopter activity overnight. While it may have looked unusual from below, the operation was unfolding exactly as planned as multiple agencies worked together to safely complete a highly technical rescue,” Allan wrote. “A huge thank you to North Shore Rescue and the flight crew for another outstanding partnership, and to everyone involved in bringing this rescue to a safe conclusion.”

The Monday night rescue was the sixth response between Friday and Monday, according to Allan.