Warning issued to would-be cliff jumpers this summer
Warning sign posted at Thetis Lake on southern Vancouver Island.
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Updated: July 10, 2009 3:25 PM
Thrill seekers after the rush of a cliff jump should take note: the bluffs of Thetis Lake are one of the least forgiving in the province.
Two separate rock bluffs along the shores of Thetis, Big Ben and Sunnyside, as they’re referred to by the View Royal Fire Department, are attractive cliff-jumping sites that have drawn youths from across the Capital Region for decades.
Big Ben is closer to the beach, while Sunnsyide is a 10-minute hike up the east side.
But every year people get hurt. The most serious injury so far this year happened May 31, when a teenage girl didn’t jump out far enough and landed on rocks below.
“(She) had jumped off Sunnyside and had a compound fracture in her leg, and the bone was protruding through skin,” said Lt. Robert Marshall, VRFD fire prevention and public education officer.
View Royal’s Fire Chief Paul Hurst added that a similar injury to the May 31 incident happened last year. Most incidents are alcohol related, he added.
In 2008 there were four instances of broken legs -- all related to cliff jumping.
The most recent death at Thetis Lake was the drowning of visiting 24-year-old Taiwanese student Wan Chang. In 2006 she stepped off a rock shelf and fell into deeper waters. Not knowing how to swim, her friends were unable to retrieve her.
A lack of awareness regarding the imminent dangers of cliff jumping at Thetis Lake has Victoria’s Dr. Ian Gillespie concerned about the potential for life-altering injuries. He witnessed an eery landscape below the waters at Sunny Side while volunteering to set up the swim portion of the Victoria International Triathlon course in 2002.
“Kids were jumping where we were putting a marker buoy. When I went down to the bottom it was only (3.5 meters deep), I had my depth gauge with me.” said Gillespie. “I saw a sneaker embedded in the rocks. I don’t imagine that person escaped without an ankle injury of some sort.”
Gillespie, a psychiatrist by trade, chaired the B.C. Medical Association’s Emergency Medicine board for six years. He is particularly wary of spinal cord injuries from head first jumps.
Lloyd Rushton, general manager of parks and services for the Capital Regional District says there is ample signage at Thetis regarding the hazards of cliff jumping. But because it’s not technically illegal, the signs are easy for thrillseekers to ignore.
sports@vicnews.com
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