The Cave & Technical Rescue Team got the call to assist West Valley SAR at approximately 2100 hrs on Sunday, January 4. There was an injured hiker at the Sierra Hut that needed to be evacuated via litter carry. My teammates arrived on scene to find one team with the hiker, and one team heading up the trail. With members of San Bernardino Mountain SAR, Wrightwood, and Valley of the Falls SAR our team of 7 made our way up the hut trail to meet the crew beginning their descent with the patient, Steven Yang of Temple City, CA. I was up this trail on Christmas day in the search for Larry Amkraut, and what a difference 9 days in Southern California makes. The trail was completely covered in ice and snow on Christmas, but this evening, most of the snow was gone and there were only patches of hard snow and ice. Traveling up the trail didn't require crampons, but this all changed when we began the litter evacuation.
Approximately 3/4 of the way to the hut our team met the litter on its way down, and we began the 4 hour evacuation. It was necessary to wear crampons as every snow patch was too slippery to navigate while moving the litter. Fortunately the litter was equipped with a wheel so we did not need to support the weight at all times, but the narrow trail made it difficult to maneuver.On a few occasions team members took some relatively spectacular falls, but did not sustain any serious injuries. I found it amazing that nobody caught a crampon spike with all of the stumbling that occurred. Like most litter evacuations, this one was successfully accomplished with brute strength and determination.
Once again I spent the night with my SAR colleagues, and once again I am honored to serve with such dedicated and skilled individuals. Here they are in the middle of the night, carrying an injured hiker down a steep, treacherous trail for no other reason than to help their fellow citizens. The people of California should be proud of such dedicated volunteers.
The map below shows the location of each of the photos in the slide show above. You can click on them to make them larger.