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CHP Helicopter Hoists Injured Climber From Mount Baxter After 500-Foot Fall

Avalanche risk at night made a helicopter hoist the only safe extraction.

A member of Inyo County Search and Rescue is lowered from the California Highway Patrol helicopter toward the rocky slope where the climbers were stranded.
The California Highway Patrol helicopter spotted the stranded climbers — circled in red — on the small rock perch where they survived the night.
Helicopter hoist-rescues occur with some regularity in the rugged Eastern Sierra, but rarely on the lesser traveled Mount Baxter.

Overview

  • The California Highway Patrol and Inyo County Search and Rescue lifted two brothers from a 12,400‑foot ledge after they spent the night in freezing wind.
  • One brother slipped on late‑season snow, tumbled about 500 feet onto a narrow granite perch, and suffered multiple broken bones that prevented self‑rescue.
  • The pair used a Garmin InReach satellite texter to call for help after officials ruled out a night ground approach because of steep, avalanche‑prone terrain.
  • High altitude and strong winds forced a careful hoist with thin power margins, so crews flew the injured man to Lone Pine first, then returned for his brother and the rescuer.
  • Both men were taken by ambulance to a local hospital, and officials said the rescue highlights the value of satellite communicators and the limits of helicopter performance at elevation.