US Navy team rescues hiker, snowmobilers
A search and rescue team from Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island conducted two rescues on 21 May. The first rescue was near Lake Cushman on Mount Washington at 4,500 ft, and the second rescue was at 8,700 ft on the south side of Mount Baker for two snowmobilers who fell into a deep glacier crevasse.
The US Navy has reported that a five-strong search and rescue team from Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island conducted two rescues on 21 May. The first rescue was near Lake Cushman on Mount Washington at 4,500 ft, and the second rescue was at 8,700 ft on the south side of Mount Baker for two snowmobilers who fell into a deep glacier crevasse.
The first rescue was requested by the Mason County Sheriff’s Department for NAS Whidbey Island SAR’s support in a joint effort to rescue a hiker who had suffered a leg injury while on Mount Washington that morning. Olympic Mountain Rescue (OMR) was on scene and monitored radio frequencies to assist the Navy helicopter as it arrived.
Upon approach to the area, the SAR crew was able to sight the OMR team and the hiker on a very steep, snow-covered mountain face. The OMR team was able to pass the status of the hiker and notified the crew that they had prepared a small ledge in the snow for the hiker to be placed in a rescue litter. Once they were ready for pick-up, they had two crew members rappel down to the hiker, place him in a litter then lift him off the mountainside. After dropping the hiker at a designated landing zone, the crew returned to base.
Shortly after returning to NAS Whidbey Island, the crew got their second call of the day – two snowmobilers were apparently trapped in a crevasse within the Easton Glacier, located on the south side of Mount Baker. The snowmobilers had fallen 100 ft down a crevasse and could not be accessed by ground crew. The environmental conditions and the high-altitude environment precluded other assets from being able to effect the rescue. One snowmobiler had a reported head injury and the status of the other was unknown.
Upon arrival, the Navy SAR crew located the two men in a deep crevasse at 8,600 ft, standing together on one side of a glacial canyon. The large crevasse was hidden by a snow bridge that had collapsed when the snowmobile had driven over it. Fortunately, this provided a very small platform for the snowmobilers to stand. Ten feet on either side of the snowmobilers was a deep chasm. Due to the outside temperature and the body heat from the snowmobilers, the snow pack within the crevasse was beginning to melt. The crew recognised the danger the snowmobilers were in and began to effect the rescue without delay.
After extracting the snowmobilers in challenging conditions, the SAR crew flew the men to PeaceHealth St Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington.
This was the ninth rescue of 2017 for NAS Whidbey Island SAR, which has also conducted four searches and 13 medical evacuation missions this year. The Navy SAR unit operates three MH-60S helicopters from NAS Whidbey Island as search and rescue/medical evacuation for Navy personnel and can also be used in civil response missions.