June 16, 2023 - Inyo County Search & Rescue officials report that on June 10, Inyo SAR and CalFire from Independence responded to a call from an injured subject on the Mt. Whitney trail.

The subject stated that they slipped on their descent in the afternoon and that they were located about 2 miles up the trail. The mishap caused them to slide down a steep snow-covered slope and hurt themselves. They were wearing crampons, however, didn’t have much experience using them.

Inyo SAR was called out just before five o’clock.

CalFire sent a medical hasty team up to assess the subject while Inyo SAR and a second CalFire team brought a wheeled litter up and prepared a “trail” in the snow for bringing a loaded litter down in a safe manner. This included cutting steps in the snow, route finding to determine safest possible ways and cutting/moving smaller trees, branches and debris that had accumulated over the course of a long and severe winter. Efforts were further slowed down by darkness and rain – the weather reduced an already low visibility to almost zero.

It quickly turned out that the subject was more like 4 miles up the trail, about twice the reported distance. Therefore, it took the litter team until 9:30 p.m., before it reached the patient and hasty team.

Together, all teams moved the patient into the litter and brought them slowly and oftentimes with belay down the hill, reaching Whitney Portal just after 2:00 a.m.

Our tips:

1. Ensure you have practiced and trained in your gear. The High Sierra is not the place to learn how to use new gear or dust off knowledge from long ago – the consequences are too high. Saturday’s subject got away with a fairly mild injury, but in the past, slides in the wrong places have led to multiple severe injuries and even fatalities.
   
   
2. Always be prepared to spend the night in the mountains, even if you have zero plans to do so. The subject’s level of preparation is the only reason they didn’t suffer from hypothermia in a rainy night.
   
   
3. Always have a good idea of your whereabouts and back-up any electronic navigation device with maps and compass.

We wish the patient a speedy recovery!

Source & photo: Inyo County Search & Rescue