Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

Cy Kaicener

I am so happy to hear the good news. Ellen is such a generous person that she paid the bill for all ten people at my birthday party at Casuellas Restuarant which is rather expensive and baked me a nutricious loaf of bread to boot.
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My favorite trail is the Skyline/Cactus to clouds trail which I like to do on many Saturdays in season. Please visit my website at www.hiking4health.com for more information especially the Links.

Hikin_Jim · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 1523 Location: Los Angeles

Wow, wow, wow, hallelujah! I'm so relieved. Thank you, God, and thank you, Ellen, for using your noggin' and getting to that hut.
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I ♥ DWA

NormaR · Joined: 13 Dec 2007 Posts: 172 Location: Ventura County, CA

So glad to hear that Ellen is safe! Ellen's heart will be warmed by all the kind words and concern that were posted here.

tradmonkey · Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 2

Great news!

I came up Sunday morning with three other San Diego Mountain Rescue members initially for the rescue of the two marines, but were diverted to the search for Ellen when we arrived.

We were the first team out on this search and covered the main trail to Round Valley. There, we checked the ranger station and restrooms, then en route to Tamarack ,we were called back to the tram due to the windy conditions at around 4:30pm. There were reportedly two other teams out as well, but resources were stretched thin after the other rescues.

This morning I popped in here and gratefully found the news I was hoping for - that Ellen is safely off of the mountain.

Rob · Joined: 05 Sep 2007 Posts: 137 Location: San Diego, CA

From mydesert.com, in story re Skyline rescue:

Hikin_Jim · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 1523 Location: Los Angeles

Yeah, I saw that. Lowlife.
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I ♥ DWA

HikeUp · Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Posts: 159 Location: Pasadena, CA

Maybe he was signaling the mother ship.

Cy Kaicener

RMRU is starting to come out with the story which they promise soon. They say Ellen crawled to the hut.
http://www.rmru.org/missions/2008/2008-006.html
_________________
My favorite trail is the Skyline/Cactus to clouds trail which I like to do on many Saturdays in season. Please visit my website at www.hiking4health.com for more information especially the Links.

zippetydude · Joined: 09 May 2006 Posts: 1156

Wow, this story is taking on a whole new tone. Found in the shelter at the summit. Next info - with a broken ankle. Ouch. Getting worse - broken leg instead. Even worse - crawled for several hours. Poor Ellen! I wish one of us had been out there with her! Good thing Ellen is tough - a lesser athlete wouldn't have made it.

Ellen: I hope your recovery is swift and painless, and I can't wait to hear the whole story from your own lips! Take care girl!

z

Perry · Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:09 pm Post subject:

I was thinking the same thing: that Ellen is tough. It says she crawled for several hours. Maybe she can tell us how far she crawled...

Jim Bakos · Joined: 08 Nov 2007 Posts: 63 Location: SoCal...

Yeah, my initial information was a little off. Ellen has a displaced fib/tib break just above the ankle, and some finger tip blackening that the doctors at Desert Medical don't think is true frostbite.

Our team members that found her in the hut were amazed at her tenacity. I gathered from their debriefing that Ellen had started down toward Tamarack, slipped on her snowshoes and broke her leg, then crawled for ~ 4 hours back up to the summit hut. She said she should have been wearing crampons instead...

It should be (because of all the news vans at our command post) all over the news tonight (ABC, CBS, NBC, etc).

Thanks again to all of you on the board for the information you provided. This helped imensly in planning our search assignments.

Now hopefully no one will go missing for a few days, and the members of Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, China Lake, LA County, San Bernardino, San Diego, and all the others that worked these searches can get some rest!

--Jim

Hikin_Jim · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 1523 Location: Los Angeles

hvydrt · Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 89

The Channel 7 news just had a story about all the rescues on San J. They said Ellen crawled 3 miles? Wow! They interviewed a SAR person that said she was prepared for the conditions.

halhiker · Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Posts: 727 Location: La Quinta, CA

On Thursday the conditions were mostly wind packed snow with a hard snow layer over soft snow. I walked down without my snowshoes on and it was OK except for a few times when I post holed up to the middle of my thigh. Don't know if crampons would have helped or hindered but that's purely speculation. Conditions were not light and fluffy or hard and icy so you were kind of in no man's land.

If there is any positive to be drawn from this it is the inspiration from a very strong willed woman in the face of terrible circumstances. It's not quite "Touching the Void" but for Ellen I'm sure it was.

AlanK · Joined: 09 May 2006 Posts: 749 Location: Glendale, CA