Rescues in San Jacinto Mountains

[RMRUpete]

RMRU has been busy in the past 5 weeks. Several parties lost well into the morning hours in storms, broken leg on the upper skyline spends night out, and a record 9 people hoisted from Skyline in one mission. Lots of pictures of the missions and of the last snow and ice training to look at, go to RMRU.ORG

[Ellen]

Howdy RMRUPete

Fabulous work RMRU -- thanks so much You are my heroes.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[Ed]

SAR services are certainly impressive. Wish there was some form of prevention that could match it.

I wonder if the 'Nine Hoisted from Skyline' on March 4 is the craigliguori group asking for information on this discussion board under 'Cactus to Clouds March 3'. The proposed starting time of midnight is the same, and the proposed date only one day earlier.

[2600fromatari]

SAR services are certainly impressive. Wish there was some form of prevention that could match it.

I wonder if the 'Nine Hoisted from Skyline' on March 4 is the craigliguori group asking for information on this discussion board under 'Cactus to Clouds March 3'. The proposed starting time of midnight is the same, and the proposed date only one day earlier.

Very perceptive of you Ed. Everyone is experienced these days.

http://www.riversidesheriff.org/press/cab17-0304.asp

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5693

[Ed]

2600fromatari,

I guess they were asking for information, but not advice. I guess you sensed that, there was no mistaking what you were telling them.

[Cy Kaicener]

Mt. San Jacinto State Park & Wilderness
20 hrs ·
On Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at approximately 3:30 pm, California State Parks received a report of a female hiker that was stranded on the Skyline Route. The reporting person said they left together around 5 am from Palm Springs to hike up the Skyline Route. The 2 hikers separated as the other hiker was having difficulties hiking in the snow and ice. The reporting hiker said that they hiked this route last year in March and that there wasn’t any snow. California Highway Patrol Aviation Unit H-60 Helicopter was activated. The female was difficult to locate as she kept moving. CHP H-60 located the female hiker stranded around the 8170 foot level. The female hiker was about ½ mile off the intended route coming up a snow/ice chute towards Notch 2 on the Desert View Trail. The female hiker was successfully hoisted up and flown over to an empty parking lot at the tram.

https://www.facebook.com/Mt-San-Jacinto ... 248490815/

[Norris]

Full story here: http://rmru.org/missions/2017/2017-012.html
According to the RMRU report, none of the group had any of the equipment required to handle the traverse in snow/ice conditions.
Kind of amazing given the earlier thread on this forum. Why post asking about conditions and then ignore the advice?

[Ed]

I've been reading the RMRU rescue reports. I said it before, and will say it again: very impressive.

On 'Skyline Broken Leg', they mention how avalanche debris can be like concrete blocks. It is something I have experienced, and it is very sobering to realize that suffocating to death in soft snow may not be the worst fate in an avalanche. We were descending Mt. Tom in the Sierras. Started down the ridge we came up. Doug Mantle suggested taking a shortcut down a chute. Being in an agreeable state of mind, I said 'Fine, let's do it'. Should have paid more attention to the fact that nobody else joined us. A few hundred feet down the chute, an avalanche started above us. We stepped to the side of the chute and watched it go by. It seemed harmless, about four or five inches of snow sliding down the chute, making a musical swishing sound. Lower down, we turned a corner in the chute and saw the avalanche debris. It gave me a chill that I can feel to this day. Acres of debris, the same as a boulder field. Except the boulders were rock-hard snow.

[Wildhorse]

I don't understand why the group of nine attempted the climb, especially without gear, even warm enough clothing, after having the information Ed provided. Maybe they relied on unreliable info from another source. Maybe the fellow who posted here did not relay the info. Maybe some in the group pressured the rest. Maybe most of the group relied on the leader.

I wonder if any in the group feel responsible for causing others in the group to risk harm. I wonder if any feel responsibility now to cover the rescue cost.

I wonder about the group interactions preceding the decision to seek rescue. I wonder about post rescue conversations.

[Ed]

My favorite is the Canadian couple - Lost Couple Super Bowl Storm - who came down here for a fun-in-the-sun winter vacation, then inserted themselves into a Canadian-style environment in their fun-in-the-sun outfits.