Rescue on Mt Russell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb_fgRK ... be&fbclid=

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb_fgRK ... be&fbclid= -- CHP Helicopter H-80 Hoist at Mt Russell
On the afternoon of Sunday, April 7, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office received an emergency satellite transmission requesting a rescue near Mt. Whitney. A party of four climbers attempting to summit Mt. Russell (14,088’) had gotten off route while descending and were stuck on the side of a cliff above a steep couloir (around 13,000’ in elevation). The party had no way of getting either up or down.
Inyo County Search and Rescue and CHP - Inland Division Air Operations were as...
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On the afternoon of Sunday, April 7, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office received an emergency satellite transmission requesting a rescue near Mt. Whitney. A party of four climbers attempting to summit Mt. Russell (14,088’) had gotten off route while descending and were stuck on the side of a cliff above a steep couloir (around 13,000’ in elevation). The party had no way of getting either up or down.

Inyo County Search and Rescue and CHP - Inland Division Air Operations were asked to assist in the rescue. At approximately 5:30 PM, CHP located the four subjects on Mt. Russell and lowered an Inyo SAR team member via a 100’ cable hoist to their position. The Inyo SAR member secured the climbers on the cliff and hooked up one of the subjects to be hoisted into the helicopter.

The helicopter took the first subject to the Lone Pine airport and refueled. When the helicopter returned, the rescue team hoisted the remaining three climbers and dropped them to their camp near Lower Boyscout Lake one at a time. The Inyo SAR member was finally hoisted into the helicopter at approximately 7:30 PM and taken to Lone Pine.

Because of a big winter season, the High Sierra still has a significant amount of snow. Difficult and potentially life-threatening alpine conditions will likely remain in the Sierra backcountry throughout the spring and into summer; and climbers and hikers attempting Whitney and surrounding peaks need to be properly prepared and experienced.

Inyo SAR and the Inyo County Sheriff's Office would like to thank the CHP Inland Division Air Operations crew for their professionalism and extreme skill while aiding in this rescue.

The Inyo SAR team works in cooperation with and under the authority of the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department, and is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization. Check out the Inyo SAR website at http://inyosar.com for more information or to make a donation.

This is why some people get a SPOT device. I've never had one so as a result I can't drop down to a cliff where I have no way of getting back up... but these guys go where others can't.

And props to the foresight and critical thinking of the guy who brought... not only did he get the ride to the airport for the low cost of a SPOT device, but he was savvy enough to be sure his buddies hauled his gear out for him lol!

This is the sort of problem solving that will get him and his companions a highly coveted university acceptance without having to go through the tedious tasks of taking SATs, actually participating in sports, or even filling out those pesky admissions applications.

Nice rant, Chad. I’ll bet it made you feel pretty good to get that off your chest. I’m just wondering. Are you so perfect that you never made a mistake? Or have you just forgotten that you were once a newbie, and that you made newbie mistakes, too?

Just for the record, I’ve been mountaineering for 32 years. My wife got me a Spot ten years ago. I climb alone almost 80% of the time, and I’ve never asked anyone for help (using Spot or otherwise). But I’m humble enough to remember that I was once a newbie. I’ve done some stupid stuff, and I try to learn from every mistake. I’ve always been resourceful enough or lucky enough to get my ass back to the car in one piece. But I still carry the Spot, just in case. And when somebody else does something stupid, I try to refrain from pointing out how superior I am.

Settle down Bob... I said some people... not all people.

Using a SPOT device or some equivalent because something happened and you got injured and need a rescue... broken legs, being hit by a rock, things like that can happen to anyone, including the partner of a friend of mine at Crystal Crag. There is nothing wrong with that of course. SPOT devices should be used in situations like that. It is probably why your wife got you one.

But using one because you were foolish enough to drop the wrong way down some slope you didn't have the capability of getting back up is a good example of the downsides to them. They give parties an out whereas without one they would be forced to be a little more deliberate in their decision making... like those of us without a SPOT have to be... even back when we were newbies.

Sure I made mistakes... and sometimes went the wrong way. But even as a newbie never went some way where I couldn't get myself back the way I came, never relied on some device to bring in helicopters should a mistake be made. So there is a difference. An event, accident, or injury is one thing. Just pushing forward knowing you have an easy out is totally different.

So one is inferior. Nothing wrong with calling someone out on it. Actually it is a good thing to point it out... if it helps fewer people follow in those footsteps. Using a SPOT because ice fell and hit you, some rockfall, you slipped and got injured, you got in a fight with a mountain lion... at that is understandable. But these guys relying on one for what they did is only pathetic. Obviously they had no business on that mountain in those conditions and no understanding of their own limitations. They should have been somewhere much smaller and closer to home. Like I was when I was a newbie without a SPOT.