Rescuers completed a dangerous helicopter operation at 12,400 feet of elevation on a remote Sierra Nevada mountain. Photo: CHP – Inland Division Air Operations//Screenshot
On April 16, a climber fell 500 feet down the western slopes of Mount Baxter — a 13,000-foot mountain in the eastern reaches of Kings Canyon National Park in the Sierra Nevada. The hiker’s fall stopped on a rocky ledge, and his brother, who was hiking with him, descended to him to provide aid.
The injured climber, who has not been identified, had broken bones and could not hike out on his own. The backcountry area is steep and remote, with fresh snowfall and no trails, so they used their Garmin InReach satellite communication device to request a rescue at 12,400 feet of elevation.
“This was high-altitude, unforgiving terrain,” Ryan Reuther, deputy sheriff with the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, told the SF Chronicle in an email.
The climbers spent the night on the ledge in sub-freezing temperatures, waiting for rescuers to arrive the following morning.
The California Highway Patrol’s Inland Division Air Operations Apple Valley Unit responded, hoisting a rescuer down onto the ledge. The first rescuer determined that the ledge was too small to fit another person for aid, as they had planned. They were still able to extricate the injured hiker, then took him to the Lone Pine Airport, where an ambulance was waiting, leaving the unharmed hiker and rescuer on the ledge due to weight restrictions. The helicopter returned shortly thereafter to pick them up.
Flight officer paramedic Gustavo Aguirre said that the high-altitude rescue was nearing the limits of the H-80 helicopter’s capabilities. To combat the northerly morning winds, they pointed the nose away from the mountain and approached sideways, mindful of the rail rotor’s position to not hit the mountainside.
“It’s probably the most challenging hoist I’ve had to do,” Aguirre told the SF Chronicle. “We had to take extreme caution, (but) time is of the essence. We’re trying to get them out of there as soon as possible.”
Wesley Cline, the helicopter pilot, stressed the perilous nature of the Sierra rescue.
“With the power you need to hover at that elevation and the power you have available, it’s pretty narrow margins,” Cline said. “We were close to the red line on power.”
The Sheriff’s office commended the stranded hikers for remaining calm and traveling with proper communication tools.
