A mountain climber who plunged 500 feet down a slope and endured a night in subzero temperatures is recovering after a dramatic helicopter rescue in California.
The Incident
The climber was ascending Mount Baxter along the snowy Eastern Sierra crest with his brother earlier this month when he lost his footing and tumbled down the steep, rugged terrain. He landed on a granite ledge, sustaining multiple fractures. His brother rushed down, but they soon realized the severity of the injuries made descent impossible, leaving them stranded at 12,400 feet.
Call for Help
The brothers, who have not been publicly identified, had a Garmin InReach satellite texting device, which they used to alert emergency services late on April 15. However, ground rescue was deemed impossible due to the high altitude, avalanche risk, and darkness. “The location of the victim made ground rescue impossible,” the California Highway Patrol (CHP) stated.
Surviving the Night
Unable to move up or down, the pair spent the night in a makeshift camp on the exposed ledge as temperatures dropped into the teens (Fahrenheit). The next morning, a CHP helicopter arrived to attempt a hoist rescue, using a long steel cable with a hook to extract the injured from the rough terrain.
The Rescue Operation
The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team, a volunteer group, joined the two-person CHP crew to locate the brothers, who waved bright-colored fabrics to signal their position. In a 30-minute operation, rescuers lowered a team member to triage the injured man, hoisted him up, and flew him to safety. They then returned for the uninjured brother and the rescuer.
“Both victims were packaged and safely hoisted from the scene,” CHP said. “They were flown to Lone Pine Airport and transported via ambulance to a local hospital for treatment.”
Pilot’s Account
Helicopter pilot Wesley Cline told the San Francisco Chronicle: “That’s the first time we’ve ever been to that mountain. The strong winds and high altitude necessitated we had to keep the helicopter pointed into the wind — we had to do things a little differently than we normally would. It was quite a challenge.”
