A mountain climber recently survived a 500-foot fall and a night in freezing conditions on California’s Mount Baxter before being rescued by a helicopter.
Along with his brother, the mountain climber was ascending Mount Baxter on the snow-covered Eastern Sierra crest in California when he lost his balance and fell down the steep slope.
He broke multiple bones after landing on a rock ledge. His brother hurried down to where he fell, but the two soon realized that, due to the seriousness of the injuries, they would not be able to descend the mountain, leaving them stranded at 12,400 feet.
“This was high-altitude, unforgiving terrain,” Deputy Ryan Reuther with the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office told the San Francisco Chronicle. Reuther added that the area where the climber fell was “extremely steep” and covered in loose rock and snow.
According to the CHP Inland Division Air Operations, “The victim and his companion utilized their Garmin InReach device to notify local search and rescue. They were unable to move up or down the steep terrain and spent the night in freezing conditions. The location of the victim made ground rescue impossible.
“H-80 inserted one Inyo County Search & Rescue team member via hoist. The narrow ledge only allowed for one rescuer.”
The conditions and location of the rescue made it very challenging
Due to the steep slope, wind gusts and freezing conditions (overnight temperatures dropped into the teens), the rescue proved to be very difficult.
“It’s probably the most challenging hoist I’ve had to do,” flight officer paramedic, Gustavo Aguirre, told the Chronicle. “We had to take extreme caution … Time is of the essence. We’re trying to get them out of there as soon as possible.”
Adding to the drama, the helicopter couldn’t accommodate six passengers at the altitude it had to maintain for the rescue. So, after the rescue team had reeled in the injured mountain climber on the hoist cable, the helicopter had to fly to Lone Pine Airport, where an ambulance was waiting. After dropping off the injured climber, they returned to retrieve the other climber who, according to Reuther, “would have otherwise been stranded.”