Reconnaissance
Photo 1. The two climbers were approximately 2/3 of the way up the cliff face, unable to ascend or descend the cliff.
|
Dangling from the helicopter
Photo 2. Jason Ray is short hauled and dropped off on the small ledge with Shawn Streeter and the two subjects.
|
Stranded on narrow ledge
Closer view of the precarious situation for the two climbers. Photo by Tony Chambers, Tip Top Search and Rescue.
|
Stranded on rock ledge
Photo 3. Climbers are stranded on a narrow rock ledge on the side of the mountain. Photo by Tony Chambers, Tip Top Search and Rescue.
|
Closer view
Closeup of picture 3. Photo by Tony Chambers, Tip Top Search and Rescue.
|
|
Two rock climbers rescued from Ellingwood Peak
Dramatic Tip Top Search & Rescue helicopter short haul rescue
by Jason Ray, Tip Top Search and Rescue
June 8, 2012
On Friday, June 1st, at approximately 10:30 P.M., the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a climbing party on the North Side of Ellingwood Peak in the Wind River Mountain Range.
Ellingwood Peak, 13,052 feet, is located within the Indian Basin and is also known as Harrower Peak. The party claimed that they were approximately 2/3 of the way up the cliff face and were in need of rescue because they were unable to ascend or descend the cliff.
Jason Ray, with Tip Top Search and Rescue (TTSAR), spoke with the individuals via cell phone and explained rescue options for the following day, depending on the weather. The same helicopter that was supposed to come onto contract on the 15th of June from Classic Aviation was scheduled to fly to Pinedale the following morning and the high angle team members were paged out.
The following morning, TTSAR members Tony Chambers, Jason Ray, Shawn Streeter, Ty Huffman, Delsa Allen, and Wes Allen met at the airport and prepared ropes and other high angle gear for a manual rescue of the two climbers.
An incident command post was set up at the Pinedale Airport and Delsa Allen took over as Incident Commander. At 9:20 A.M. Tony Chambers and Shawn Streeter did a reconnaissance flight over the subjects and took photos of the scene. (Pic #1) The weather moved into the area within minutes and the helicopter returned to the airport.
After reviewing the photos, the SAR team concluded that the safest way to rescue the stranded climbers was to short haul them off the cliff face. Short Haul is a technique used by rescuers to insert and extract personnel by using a rope that is attached to the belly of the helicopter. TTSAR developed their short haul program a year ago and has had several operational short haul missions in the Wind River Range.
Due to thunderstorm cells moving through the area, TTSAR members were unable to attempt the rescue until the weather improved. Inbetween thunderstorms, around 12:30 P.M., the pilot, Neal Jenson, and Jason Ray hooked a back pack on the end of long line that is remotely released by the pilot and delivered it to the subjects on the cliff. The back pack contained food, water, sleeping bags, a radio, instructions for rescue, and a few other essentials that helped buy extra time for both the rescuers and the climbers.
At 3:00 P.M. the TTSAR team was once again back in the head of Indian Basin after a thunder cell had just moved through. With sunny skies and light winds the team had about an hour before the next thunder cell would be upon them. The helicopter checked safety parameters and, after completing a safety check list, the team decided to conduct the short haul mission.
As previously mentioned, the helicopter was piloted by Neal Jenson, and Tony Chambers was on board as the spotter for the operation. Once rigged and ready, the helicopter short hauled Shawn Streeter from a landing zone (LZ) at the base of Ellingwood Peak (10,800’) to the scene on the side of the cliff (12,500’). (Pic #2) Jason Ray was then short hauled and dropped off on the small ledge with Shawn and the two subjects.
Jason and Shawn then rigged the two subjects into screamer suits and prepared them to be short hauled off the ledge. A screamer suit is a large triangular shaped rescue device that slips around and underneath a person so that they can be lifted into the air without any danger of them slipping out of the suit.
Shawn Streeter and one subject were short hauled off the ledge first, and then Jason Ray and the other subject were removed last. (Pic #3)
The short haul crew and both climbers were taken back down to an LZ at the base of Ellingwood Peak and then loaded internally for the flight back to the airport.
The short haul mission was concluded at 3:50 P.M. and the remainder of the subjects gear, including their camp, was brought out by Shawn and Tony at 5:30 P.M. from Island Lake. (Pic #4) Upon rescue both subjects were uninjured and are recovering from their expedition.
Thank you very much to Dave Lankford for all the great help at the command post and for his work with Mary Lankford, and the County Commissioners on making this rescue possible. We could not have done it without their help and support!
Photos provided by Tony Chambers.
|
