Altitude Sickness at Chickenfoot Lake

The call from the Sheriff coordinator came at 15:30 on August 11, just as a car of SAR ladies hit 395, returning from a relaxing weekend backpacking trip out of Rock Creek. Just over two miles up the Rock Creek trail, a 50-year-old male had been unable to get out of his tent all day, […]

Near-Fatal Climbing Accident on Mt. Emerson

On Saturday, July 6, a 42-year-old female climber was seriously injured while descending the southeast face of Mt. Emerson, a peak in the Sierra Nevada above North Lake, west of Bishop. Sometime around 1 p.m., the climber fell approximately one hundred feet while she was rappelling off the route; likely due to an anchor failure. […]

Broken ankle on Mt. Whitney Trail

Inyo County Search and Rescue received a call Sunday June 30th around 12:30. The 57 year old female patient slipped on wet rocks while filling her water bottle in the stream. She heard a crunch and pain began radiating from the lateral side of her right leg. She suspected a broken ankle. She and her […]

Altitude Sickness and Broken Ankle at Trail Camp

On June 24 at approximate 13:30, a 39-year-old male with mild altitude sickness stumbled off the Mt. Whitney Trail and sprained his ankle near Trail Camp (12,000 ft.) while attempting to reach the summit in one day. He was unable to walk and without cell phone reception, so one member of his hiking party walked […]

Whitney Trail Carryout

On June 18th 2013 Inyo SAR assisted a hiker with a sprained ankle on the Mt. Whitney Trail. The patient had OK range of motion in the ankle and minimal swelling and pain, but could not put weight on the ankle. After a full physical examination was performed, the team evacuated the patient. Initially, the […]