Washington rescue team describes harrowing experience saving injured ice climber: 'A little nerve-wracking'
The incident occurred northeast of Seattle on Sloan Peak, where rescuers took a helicopter to a near-vertical ledge at an elevation of 6,600 feet.
Washington crew rescue ice climber after mountainside fall
A Washington rescue team describes their experience saving a seriously injured climber who had fallen 100 feet on an icy mountain in late January.
SNOHOMISH, Wash. – A Washington state search and rescue team that saved a seriously injured ice climber who had fallen 100 feet on a snow-covered mountainside said the steep incline made for a harrowing rescue.
The climber fell on Sloan Peak in the Cascade Mountains northeast of Seattle, where rescuers took a helicopter to a near-vertical ledge at an elevation of 6,600 feet.
WATCH: FIRST-PERSON VIEW OF DARING HELICOPTER RESCUE OFF ICY MOUNTAIN
First-person view of the rescue of an injured climber off Sloan Peak in Snohomish County, Washington.
(Snohomish County Sheriff's Office / FOX Weather)
One rescuer wearing a camera gave a first-person view of how the steep nature of the rocks proved a challenge for the emergency responders. For instance, the steep vertical angle made it difficult to provide equipment to rescue personnel, according to Paul Moutray, lead crew chief of Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue.
"There wasn't a lot of clearance for the helicopter to get in there," Moutray told FOX Weather Friday while flanked by two others who took part in the rescue. "And then trying to get equipment down – the rotor wash/downward wind, when it hit the ground, it kept blowing my equipment away. So it was a little challenging getting equipment up to the rescue personnel."
The helicopter crew had to bring the aircraft to 15-20 feet to the nearly vertical ledge and make the depth estimate "by eyeball."
"It's a little nerve-wracking when you're that close to the mountain, but that's what we practice," said Bill Quistorf, chief pilot with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, who flew the helicopter on this rescue.
Watch: Ice climber rescued from Sloan Peak in Washington state
The Snohomish County, Washington, Sheriff's Office dispatched a rescue helicopter last Saturday to Sloan Peak in the central Cascades to assist a fallen ice climber. Two rescue technicians were lowered from the helicopter, Snohawk10, to provide aid and transport the climber to a medical facility for further treatment.
Also on the helicopter was Everett Mountain Rescue Helicopter Rescue Technician Ernie Zeller. He noted that the near-vertical angle of the site was a variable he had to consider when reaching and caring for the injured climber.
"As far as steepness of the cliff face, yeah, it's just making sure that the helicopter keeps me away from that, puts me in the right spot," Zeller said. "And thankfully, pretty much every time they put me in the right spot."
Video of the rescue shows the team digging in the snow to create a horizontal surface on the steep cliff face. There, they were able to not only secure themselves to the ledge, but also place a litter where they laid the injured climber.
A rescuer places his hand on the injured climber's head.
(Snohomish County Sheriff's Office / FOX Weather)
The rescue crew said the climber, who was no longer able to walk due to his injuries, received treatment both on the snowy ledge and in the aircraft, as they made their way to the hospital.