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6-6-09 - Critically Injured Hiker Rescued - Half Dome Cables
A Half Dome hiker fell from the summit cables during inclement weather and sustained critical injuries.
A coordinated air and ground rescue response succeeded in evacuating the patient to definitive care in time
to save her life. The Half Dome Cables route is extremely slick and dangerous during
wet weather. The cables are also highly prone to lightening strikes. Do not attempt the Half Dome Cables when
wet or stormy.
PSAR
- Preventative Search and Rescue Reports
Learn from the misfortune of others.
Friends of YOSAR and our
partners recognize that the best form
of rescue is preventing the incident from happening at all. We post
in-depth reports, including interviews and move-by-move analysis of
certain incidents, so that others may avoid a similar
predicament. We call this PSAR - Preventative Search and
Rescue. Read
PSAR reports for climbing,
hiking,
and backpacking.
5-20-09 – Dog
Rescued from South Fork of Merced River
A family dog became stranded on a small midstream island on the South
Fork of the Merced River in Wawona near Highway 41. Due to high
spring runoff, the current was too strong for the dog the reach the
other shore without being swept away, though it tried until exhausted.
A rescue swimmer joined the dog and rigged it for a tethered
pendulum to shore. Federal regulations require that pets be on
leash at all times, in part to avoid Fido SARs.
5-18-09 – Woman Missing in
Merced River
At about 3:30pm on Monday, May 18, 31-year-old Katrin Lehmann was last
seen as she fell into the Merced River below Vernal Falls. She is a
white female, 6 feet tall, 150 pounds with light brown hair and brown
eyes. She was last seen wearing a maroon rain jacket and dark
blue
pants.
If you have information concerning Ms. Lehmann's disappearance
or
her current location, please contact the Criminal Investigations Unit
in Yosemite Valley at (209) 372-0614 or the Yosemite Communication
Center at (209) 379-1992 (24 hours). Download the missing
person flyer.
5-14-09 – High Angle
Short Haul Helicopter Training
Yosemite Search and Rescue conducted high-angle short haul trainings
between El Cap Meadow and Middle Cathedral. Rescuers were inserted onto
and extracted from the sixth pitch of the East Buttress of Middle
Cathedral route. Few other rescue organizations in the world train for
and regularly use helicopters to extract injured victims from such
steep terrain. The procedure requires a highly coordinated effort
between the rescuer, spotter, and pilot to allow the safe practice of
this life saving technique.
5-14-09 – Carryout of
Injured Hiker - Mist Trail/Nevada Fall
At 1:28pm YOSAR received a report of an injured 20 year old male at the
base of Nevada Falls on the Mist Trail. The subject had sustained an
arm and shoulder injury that required a carryout to be performed by NPS
SAR personnel to the base of the trail. The subject was transported via
ambulance for further evaluation by Yosemite Clinic Medical Staff.
5-10-09 – Carryout of
Injured Hiker - Emerald Pool/Silver Apron
At 5:44pm a 62 year old female sustained a severe left ankle injury
subsequent to a ground level fall on the Silver Apron (Emerald Pool
area of the Mist Trail). The patient required a wheeled-litter
transport to the base of the trail and ambulance transport to the
Yosemite Medical Clinic.
4-24-09 – Mutual
Aid to Fatal Small Plane Crash - Mono County
On April 24th a single engine aircraft left Tonopah, NV in route to
Modesto, CA. The aircraft failed to close its VFR (visual flight rules)
flight plan which caused the issuance of an Alert Notice (ALNOT) by the
Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC). The Civil Air Patrol
(CAP) was tasked by California’s Emergency Management Agency
(CALEMA) to lead the search operation. Yosemite was asked to assist on
April 28th to check the Merced Lake area of the park following a
possible sighting by a CAP search team. The airplane and two deceased
occupants were located on May 4th 12 miles east of the city of Mammoth,
CA in Mono County. Read more.
4-15-09
- Evacuation of Stranded Day Hikers - Glacier Point
Two day hikers ascended the Mist Trail to the top of Nevada Fall, then
followed the Panorama Trail to Glacier Point, planning to return to the
Valley floor via the Four Mile Trail. However, the Four Mile Trail
proved to be treacherously steep and icy and the duo wisely
opted
to try another option.
Fortunately, the park Roads crew had punched a single 4x4 lane to
Glacier Point that day and Rangers were able to retrieve the pair as
darkness and a cold front arrived. Several groups each year arrive at
Glacier Point to find it a snowy, inhospitable and deserted dead end.
CHECK TRAIL CONDITIONS BEFORE HIKING TO GLACIER POINT, especially from
October to May. Visit the NPS
trail conditions page before
taking your hike.
4-14-09 - Rescue of
Stranded
Climbing Party - Lost Arrow Spire
At about 9:00am the Yosemite Emergency Communications Center began
receiving multiple 911 calls with reports of yells for help coming from
the Lost Arrow Spire. At about the same time, S. Thayer contacted the
SAR Office directly via a borrowed cell phone and informed Rangers that
his two climbing partners were stuck in the notch of Lost Arrow Spire.
Thayer explained that events caused his climbing partners to become
unexpectedly benighted in the Spire’s Notch and that he did
not
have the means to extricate them.
Thayer, Capp, and Jimenez had planned on a single day ascent of the
Lost Arrow tip. They left Camp 4 at about 6:00am but
by the
time they actually began technical climbing out of the notch it was
almost 2:30pm. They left their packs, extra clothing, food, and water
on the rim, rappelling 300 feet down into the notch with only the
equipment that they were wearing.
The climb took much longer to accomplish and they were overtaken by
nightfall. Deciding not to complete the traverse back to the rim, the
team rappelled back to the notch. The team experienced a plethora of
problems including rope drag on the last pitch and their inability to
locate the one head lamp they had brought with them. Thayer was able to
ascend from the notch to the rim; however, the two other members of the
party were stranded in the notch during the night. The team was exposed
to the deteriorating weather throughout the night without adequate
clothing. The following morning, NPS rescue personnel hiked the Upper
Yosemite Falls Trail and assisted them in ascending out of the Notch.
3-9
to 3-10-09 - Search for Missing Man -
Yosemite Falls
On Monday, March 9, YOSAR was alerted to a man in peril at the top of
Yosemite Falls. With the help of CHP helicopter H-40, the man was
located on a snow-covered rock in Yosemite Creek just downstream of the
Yosemite Creek bridge, a few hundred feet upstream of Upper Yosemite
Fall, the highest waterfall in North America. In spite of rescuers'
best efforts, the man was lost in the creek and swept over the brink.
After many days of unsuccessful searching, possible human skeletal remains
have been located in Yosemite Creek below Yosemite Falls. Testing will
confirm if this SAR is resolved.
2-23 to
2-24-09 - Helicopter Evacuation from Half Dome
A member of a Korean mountaineering party attempting Half Dome's Direct
Northwest Face sustained life-threatening injuries when he was swept
down the "Death Slabs" by an avalanche. See the full
report and photos.
Avalanche debris field below Half Dome in which the climber was caught
the previous afternoon. Photo by David Pope.
11-10
to 11-12-08 - Major Search for Missing Backpacker
A solo backpacker became stranded for twelve days in a remote area of
the Yosemite high country, snowed in by a signifcant winter storm. With
a search area of 400 square miles, YOSAR ground, air, and investigative
personnel tried to locate the starving backpacker. Read the full
report and
analysis with photos.
Frazier's SOS distress signal stomped into the snow and lined with tree
boughs, as seen from the rescue helicopter before landing and
evacuating him. NPS photo.
9-10-08
- Missing Motorcyclist Found Deceased - Highway 41
A man reported as overdue from a motorcycle ride was found deceased
with his wrecked motorcycle below Highway 41 south of the Wawona Tunnel.
9-9-08
- Hiker Fatality - John Muir Trail / Ice Cut
A man died suddenly while hiking on the John Muir Trail near the "Ice
Cut," between Vernal and Nevada Falls. While other hikers performed
CPR, rescuer teams responded by trail-running and heli-rappelling to
the scene. The man was pronounced dead on scene. Heart attack is
suspected.
9-7-08
- Stranded Solo Climber/Hiker - Five Open Books
A solo hiker/climber became stranded on the climbing route "Hanging
Teeth (5.8)," in the "Five Open Books" area of Yosemite Valley, near
Yosemite Falls. Apparently, the man started up the route without any
climbing equipment (free-soloing) after underestimating the technical
nature of the route. Rescuers climbed to his position and set up a
rappel for him to descend.
9-6-08
- Air Evacuation of Possible Cardiac - Illilouette
Fall
A man complaining of shortness of breath, nausea, and weakness at the
top of Illilouette Fall was evacuated by park helicopter 551. A
combined trail and air response enabled the patient to be rapidly
evacuated to definitive care.
8-31-08
- Laborious Labor Day Sunday for YOSAR
YOSAR responded to several significant calls throughout Labor Day
Weekend 2008. The busiest day was Sunday, 8-31:
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8-31-08 - Man Falls into Inner Gorge of Yosemite
Falls
A man navigating off-trail along the Inner Gorge of Yosemite Falls (the
steep slick-rock slot canyon of Yosemite Creek between the base of
Upper Fall and the top of Lower Fall) fell, sustaining substantial
trauma to his face, chest, and legs. Rescue teams climbed and rappelled
to the patient's location and stabilized him for air transport. He was
short-hauled from the scene to an Air Ambulance for rapid transport to
difinitive care.
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8-31-08 - Lead-Climber Fall - Church Bowl
A climber leading near the Church Bowl Tree fell, pulled protection,
and sustained head and leg injuries. More information will follow as it
becomes available.
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8-31-08 - Off-Route Climbers Ledged Out -
Sunnyside Bench
Two climbers found themselves stranded about 300 feet off the ground on
the rock buttress just east of Yosemite Falls (Sunnyside Bench) after
apparently climbing the wrong route. Rescuers climbed above the
stranded climbers via another route, installed bolt anchors, and
rappelled down to them.
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8-31-08 - Hiker Carried Out from Mist Trail
A woman suffering from back spasms was carried out from the Mist Trail.
Although less publicized than other types of rescues, this type of call
is among the most common YOSAR responds to each year.
8-30-08
- Hiker Loses Trail, Becomes Stranded - Four Mile
Trail
In an uncannily similar incident, another unrelated hiker found himself
stranded in the same area off the Four Mile Trail. He was led to safety
after he yelled for help. Both hikers appear to have followed social
side-trails above Union Point into heavy brush and steep terrain.
8-29-08
- Hiker Loses Trail, Becomes Stranded - Four Mile
Trail
A day-hiker on the Four Mile Trail above Union Point lost the trail and
became stranded in the cliff bands west of the trail. Exhausted and
disoriented, he called for help on his cell phone and was guided safely
back to the trail.
8-14-08
- Numerous Rescues Throughout Yosemite
All districts of the park had a high emergency call load throughout the
day, in both the front- and backcountries, including emergency air
operations in the Tuolumne area, a carry-out for an injured hiker on
the 4-Mile Trail, and several emergent ambulance transports, among
others.
8-1-08
- Emergency Short-Haul Evacuations - Telegraph Fire
On July 25, 2008 a large, fast moving, wild land fire erupted in the
Merced River Canyon just west of Yosemite National Park. The fire,
named the Telegraph Fire, threatened 2000 homes in the Mariposa area
including those of many park employees. The fire closed Highway 140 and
burned over power lines, darkening the park. YOSAR participated as a
cooperating agency doing traffic control and non-fire ground support.
Additionally, Yosemite’s helicopter was assigned to the
Telegraph
Fire as an air medical helicopter. YOSAR rescue team members were
utilized twice to short-haul firefighters who had become heat exhausted
during the fire fighting efforts.
A Type I helicopter drops retardant while Yosemite Rescue personnel fly
to their heli-rappel / short-haul site. Photo by Keith Lober.
Source:
Keith Lober
7-4-08
- Response to Hang Glider Crash - Leideg Meadow
On July 4th 2008 the Yosemite National Park Search and Rescue team
responded to a report of a hang glider that had crashed into the Muir
Tree in Leideg Meadow. The pilot apparently snagged the tree on his
final approach to a landing. The hang glider came to rest 100 feet
above the ground precariously perched in the tree branches. Although
the pilot was unhurt he was unable to extricate himself from the
harness and free himself. YOSAR personnel along with members of the
Yosemite Fire Department worked to secure the pilot to prevent the
gusting winds from dislodging the glider and dropping the pilot. Once
the pilot was secured YOSAR climbers disengaged the pilot from the
glider and lowered him to the ground. The glider was then removed
without incident.
4-18-08
- Fatal Small Plane Crash Near Yosemite
A small plane crashed in a remote area just outside of Yosemite's
northern boundary, killing both occupants.
More recent rescue
reports and photos.
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