A dangerous helicopter rescue was required to save the hiker. Photo: Inyo County Search and Rescue
A hiker is lucky to be alive after a boulder fell on his leg and trapped him for seven hours in the Inyo Mountains of eastern California. On the afternoon of December 5, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the hiker in distress near the town of Independence and dispatched Inyo County Search and Rescue to the scene.
The rescue team was able to budge the rock, which was estimated to be between 6,000 and 10,000 pounds, with the use of ropes, pulleys, and leverage to free the hiker, Search and Rescue said in a statement. The rescue team determined that due to the condition of the hiker, an airlift would be necessary. Given there were no safe landing sites in the area, the medic had to rappel down to the scene and hoist the hiker up into the helicopter while it hovered off the ground. The helicopter arrived from the US Naval Air Station Lemoore and extricated the man to Fresno for treatment.
No further details are known about the hiker, other than that he was male.
Pulleys and leverage tools were used to move the boulder. Photo: Inyo County Search and Rescue
In its statement Inyo County Search and Rescue noted, “Challenges encountered on this mission included coordination of multiple agencies and resources; accessing an accident scene in steep, loose rocky terrain; using limited resources to move a large boulder; managing a severely injured patient for several hours while awaiting the helicopter extrication; assisting in a nighttime helicopter hoist; all in chilly December darkness.”
It’s worth noting, Inyo County Search and Rescue is a non-profit consisting of volunteer, unpaid professionals.
The Inyo Mountains are a range that runs parallel to the Sierra Nevada in eastern California. The range reaches altitudes of more than 11,000 feet at its highest point, Waucoba Mountain.
