Evening star., 1949-05-09
Flyer and Nurse Safe
After 6-Day Hike Back
From Canadian Crash
By George srimmen
csaeese~ p.sss sses @s-s.s

VANCOUVER, British Columbia
May . distributed By Associate
Press .-Sunburned and grimy.
weary of chocolate bars and mos
quitoes. Bill Grant and Sheila
Cure came home last night-six
days overdue.
Dressed In the same light cloth
/ ing they wore when t..eir small
airplane crashed late last Monday
in Q driving snowstorn atop e.oso-
foot Mount Hozomcen. i3s miles
east. they told this story:
Mr.. Grant. 80. q Vancouver pi-
lot. and the 2S-year-old student
nurse left Cranbrook. b. c.. en-
route to Vancouver at Q Am. Mon
day.
The weather was ine." Mr..
Grant said.
I'VE hit the hrst bad weather
when We tried TO go through the
CoQuihalla Pass. II was coming
down like curtains"
Wings Accumulated ice.
They tried the Big Bend high
way route then. but had to turn
back. They tried to get to orince-
ton, B. c, but we we're blocked
in solid"
I'VE were about at the border
when 1t really closed in" Mr..
Grant said.
Then she started to Ice up.
The wings and struts were iced
and the prop was. too.
Il knew that was 1t. I started
to ease down slowly and the next
thing saw was snow and trees.
Il shouted TO Sheila: Watch II.
Here We so!'"
Mr.. Grant said one wing hit a
snag going in and the propeller
snapped of. The only injury
suffered was q bruised finger for
Mr.. Grant.
The pair spent that night -
under freezing conditions-in the
hole dug by the nose Of the plane
when 1t crashed. 1T was awfully
cold" said Miss Cure. Bitter"
Started Trek Down Mountain.
The next morning I'VE gathered
what stuff we could and started
down the mountain"
With them they carried q COM
pass. heavy clothing. q chart. the
aircraft's log book. all the paper
they could And and a pair of
drapes Sheila's mother had made
for the girls room at Vancouver
General Hospital, where she Is a
student nurse.
Mr.. Grant was dressed In a
tweed jacket. shirt and tie, light
trousers and heavy rubber boots.
Miss Cure wore q sweater, her
hospital blazer. grey slacks. and
rubber mucklucks. All the food
they had was five chocolate bars.
Their first hazard appeared to
be an ice field. AS they began to
cross 1t. the field moved.
The pair was carried 500 feet
"Sheila's head and one foot was
sticking out the top when it.
stopped" Mr.. Grant said. Neither
was hurt.
we realized we'd have to ration
our food" Miss Cure said. so
we had only one square Of choco-
late apiece each day. OF course
we had lots Of water. . The, river
ran all along the bottom Of the
gorge
Mr.. Grant-who doesn't smoke
carried one booklet Of matches.
And with an old newspaper they
lit fires each night.
They slept on ledges near the
bottom Of the valley wearing all
the clothes they had and wrapped
in Miss Cures homespun curtains.
BY Thursday they were feeling
pretty low"
About noon. they saw two Royal
Canadian Air Force planes.
That was the first indication
we had they were looking for us, -"
Mr.. Grant said. 1T really bucked
Nus up. We tried to signal them
we built q fire-but they were too
far away"
Friday they saw more planes
and that afternoon two RCAF
Dakotas dropped the three para
rescue men who later guided them
to safety. "A helicopter dropped
us q radio and * rations. That
was the first real food we'd had
since Monday" Mr.. Grant said.
Saturday morning they met the
para rescue men. Were We glad
to see them!"
Later, the ground party which
came IL miles from a lumber
camp joined them. They were
guided to the camp. where .
United States Coast Guard hell
copter picked them up for the air
journey to Vancouver.