Hikers spend three days stranded after fall down snowy cliff, California rescuers say
When a pair of hikers fell down a snowy cliff, it took multiple failed attempts to reach them over the course of three days until they were finally airlifted to safety, California rescuers say.
As the two hikers trekked a ridge line trail on Tahquitz Peak above Idyllwild on Saturday, March 1, they both fell about 800 feet “down a snowy cliff,” according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue.
With “serious injuries,” the hikers ended up stranded more than 8,000 feet high, LASD rescuers said in an Instagram post.
A helicopter rescue team with the Riverside Sheriff’s Office initially responded but had to turn back “due to very high winds,” according to an Instagram post from Riverside County rescuers.
Helicopter teams from other agencies also tried to make their way to the hikers, but with “low clouds and high winds” they were unsuccessful, rescuers said.
With no way of reaching the pair by air, Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit volunteers made their way to the hikers on foot, officials said.
“Our team relied on expert tracking, rope systems, and sheer determination to reach them,” Riverside Mountain Rescue said in an Instagram post.
After finding the pair, Riverside volunteers ensured the man and woman were in stable condition, Los Angeles County rescuers said.
Additional rescue teams from neighboring counties were called in as on-scene rescuers grew “exhausted from working in freezing temperatures and deteriorating weather conditions making a helicopter rescue impossible,” officials said.
Weather conditions continued to deteriorate, and “it was clear the rescue would extend well into the night,” rescuers said.
Search and rescue teams built “rope rescue systems across a quarter-of-a-mile of steep icy terrain,” rescuers said.
“Working through the night in blowing snow and sub-zero windchill, rescuers were able to extract both patients before moving them in rescue litters more than 2 miles down the mountain,” rescuers said.
Finally, on the third day, the weather improved.
After three other failed attempts, a helicopter with Riverside County Sheriff’s Office made it to the hikers and hoisted one from the area, according to rescuers.
Shortly after, a CalFire helicopter team hoisted the other hiker from the area, rescuers said.
“With the patients safely off the mountain, rescuers made their way back to the trailhead and home for some much-needed rest,” rescuers said.
Tahquitz Peak is about a 110-mile drive southeast from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Hikers spend three days stranded after fall down snowy cliff, California rescuers say."
