slider1

Inyo County SEARCH & RESCUE

slider2

Inyo County SEARCH & RESCUE

slider3

Inyo County SEARCH & RESCUE

previous arrow
next arrow

About Our Team:

We are a dedicated group of volunteers called upon to provide search and rescue services to all reaches of Inyo County, CA. As an independent non-profit 501c3 organization, we partner with the Inyo County Sheriff's Office to better provide services.

In emergency situations we assist members of the public in distress in areas inaccessible by paved roads. We also assist Search and Rescue teams in other counties of California when additional rescuers are needed for large scale or complex missions.

Inyo County is home to the highest and lowest points in the lower 48 states … Mt. Whitney at 14,495 feet above sea level and Badwater Basin at 282 feet below sea level in Death Valley. The Eastern Sierra is a rugged and sparsely populated area of California with diverse geographical terrain and extreme weather conditions. It is a popular tourist destination with over 5 million visitors annually.

The team responds to an average of 50 emergencies per year, the majority of these occurring on the Mt. Whitney trail during the summer months. Mission types include everything from medical emergencies to technical rock rescue and snow and ice rescue, as well as much that doesn't fit into a specific category.

Member: Mountain Rescue Association

Recent Missions

  • Coyote 4WD Roll-Over

    Coyote 4WD Roll-Over

    On the afternoon of 9/5/2020, Inyo SAR responded to a 4WD vehicle rollover on the back of Coyote Flat with major injuries. At approximately 1200, a single Jeep rolled three times down a steep embankment. It was initially reported there were four passengers. Big Pine Fire Department responded in two OHVs. Five Inyo SAR members, […]Read More »
  • Broken Leg in Tuttle Creek

    Broken Leg in Tuttle Creek

    On the morning of July 19, 2020, a group of four experienced hikers were leaving their campsite in upper Tuttle Creek to hike back to their cars, when a member of the group dislodged an unstable rock with his left foot. That same foot was then caught by a tree root and, unable to catch […]Read More »
  • Training Seminar: Rigging for Rescue I and II

    Training Seminar: Rigging for Rescue I and II

    Inyo County SAR has been fortunate to train with Rigging for Rescue® (RFR) through the years and we are especially grateful to them for traveling to the Eastern Sierra this year to again instruct both Level I and Level II courses for the team. RFR offers a technical ropework seminar that is renowned for its […]Read More »
  • Climbing Fall in Pine Creek

    Climbing Fall in Pine Creek

    PINE CREEK CANYON, May 8, 2020 – On May 7 around 1:30pm, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office received notification of a fall victim with critical injuries in Pine Creek Canyon. The victim, one of a party of two from Bishop, CA, was near the top of a climbing route in Scheelite Canyon/Pratt’s Crack Gulley, roughly […]Read More »
  • Independence Peak Avalanche

    Independence Peak Avalanche

    April 29, 2020 — A party of two skiers, one male, one female, both in their late twenties/early thirties, set out around 9:30am to ascend, then ski a prominent canyon on the northeast side of Independence Peak, near the Kearsarge Pass trailhead. After climbing for several hours, and gaining several thousand feet, they heard then […]Read More »