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#Rescue CHP – Central Division Air Operations did it again. The helicopter crew winched three mountain climbers to safety. They were at 13,100' feet in Inyo county, a place called Middle Palisades. The climbers ran out of daylight and were stranded on the steep mountain side All were hoisted aboard H-40 and flown to Bishop Airport. These Officers make it look easy!#LiveOnFox26
Posted by KMPH FOX 26 on Thursday, October 15, 2015
skip to 2:30 in the video to get to the action.
Last Thursday, two climbers were rescued at an elevation of 13,100-feet on the 14,019-foot Middle Palisade in California. As you can see in the video, there is a decent amount of snow up in the high sierra right now. More snow has fallen since this video.
It’s being reported that these climber simply “ran out of daylight” on their climb. If they were still at 13,100-feet they very badly misjudged their climb begging the question, did they have the experience, skill, and equipment to be in these big mountains. Did they have the experience to make the right decisions to stay out of such a life threatening situation for both themselves and the helicopter crew.
Clearly, the Rescue CHP Central Division Air Operations crew in this video are a bunch of badasses. They nail this rescue in minutes and make it look easy. Thanks for keeping us safe out there, guys.
“#‎Rescue‬ CHP – Central Division Air Operations did it again. The helicopter crew winched three mountain climbers to safety. They were at 13,100′ feet in Inyo county, a place called Middle Palisades. The climbers ran out of daylight and were stranded on the steep mountain side All were hoisted aboard H-40 and flown to Bishop Airport. These Officers make it look easy!” – KMPH Fox 26
I’m grateful that these climbers were rescued, but these scenarios are starting to seem all too common. Inexperienced climbers/hikers, bad weather decisions and misjudging the difficulty are recipes for disaster or even death. I’m all for pushing your limits, but what has happened to our common sense and our ability to change plans if conditions are not right? It puts rescue operations at risk just so someone can have bragging rights.