Saturday, May 31, 2008

Active Rescue Operation on Mount Ellinor

THREE HIKERS INJURED ON MOUNT ELLINOR
By Dedrick Allan 02/06/2008
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/108/reftab/1632/Default.aspx

This article lists the names.

Over the weekend, three injured hikers were rescued from Mount Ellinor in the Olympic National Forest - two of them by helicopter in the middle of the night. A female hiker with an injured ankle was rescued by a ground crew Saturday afternoon.

That person, identified as Karla D. Piecuh, 51 of Suquamish, was transported to Mason General Hospital. In a separate incident in the same area, known as the "Shoot", a man and a woman were injured later in the afternoon when they apparently were hit by a block of ice as they were descending the mountain, about 15 miles west of Hoodsport.

After rescuers reached them, a helicopter was called in from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Using night vision equipment, the helicopter crew located the climbers about 2:30 a.m. Sunday and lifted them off the mountain. They were flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with head and neck injuries.

Those hikers have been identified as Yi-Bing Wu and Lisa Song, both 39 and both from Kirkland. The rescue crews were from Mason County Fire Protection Districts, #4, #6, and #18, and the Mason County Sheriff's Office along with elements of Olympic Mountain Rescue and Tacoma Mountain Rescue.

Mount Ellinor is 5,944 feet tall, and still has snow-covered areas. (Updated 10:08 AM 6/2)



A hiker or hikers got hurt on the chute and Olympic Mountain Rescue is with them. Search Base is set up at the lower trailhead. An airlift is planned for 6:30 am.

Someday the new Mason County SAR unit will be trained and will be able to respond faster then OMR which is located in Kitsap County.

(I never blamed SAR units. I simply said that a unit that is 30 miles closer to the mountain can respond faster. I am a member of SAR. If the politics are going to be this heavy I want nothing to do with SAR. I hate politics and I'm sensing a load politics related to SAR.)

Video Here

Three injured climbers rescued from Mount Ellinor

01:54 PM PDT on Sunday, June 1, 2008

KING Staff


SEATTLE - Three hikers were injured Saturday when they were hit by huge piece of ice in Olympic National Park.

Authorities say the accident happened at about 2:30 p.m., in the area of an avalanche chute, nearly 5,500 feet up Mount Ellinor.

Rescuers spent a good portion of the night reaching the two women and one man. One reportedly had an ankle injury and the other two had head and neck injuries.

A Firewood 3 H60 Nighthawk from Naval Station Whidbey flew them off the mountain to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle early Sunday morning.

There was no immediate word on their conditions.

Mount Ellinor is about 15 miles west of Hoodsport.


3 hikers injured on Mount Ellinor in Olympic forest
Seattle Times - United States
Three injured hikers were rescued from Mount Ellinor in the Olympic
National Forest - two of them by helicopter in the middle of the night
See all stories on this topic:
Story

3 hikers injured on Mount Ellinor in Olympic forest
(AP) -- Three injured hikers were rescued from Mount Ellinor in the
Olympic National Forest - two of them by helicopter in the middle of
the night. A female hiker with an injured ankle was rescued by a ground
crew Saturday afternoon. ...
Story
Columbian.com State News Feed


3 hikers injured on Mount Ellinor in Olympic forest
Associated Press - June 2, 2008 12:35 AM ET HOODSPORT, Wash. (AP) -
Three injured hikers were rescued from Mount Ellinor in the Olympic
National Forest - 2 of them by helicopter in the middle...
Story


3 hikers injured on Mount Ellinor in WA
Three hikers have been rescued from Mount Ellinor in the Olympic
National Forest after they were injured.
Story

3 hikers injured on Mount Ellinor in WA
Three hikers have been rescued from Mount Ellinor in the Olympic
National Forest after they were injured. Mount Ellinor is about 15
miles west of Hoodsport.
Story


Two More Mountains and more skills
By Love(Love)
Today our group went over to the Olympic Penninsula to hike Mt.
Ellinor. The mountain is beautiful and I definitely want to go back and
check it out again. While this was only about a 3 mile hike, it was
good for elevation gain (right ...
Story


Two injured hikers rescued from Mount Ellinor | Local News | KING5 ...
Local news from Seattle, Washington including breaking stories and top news
coverage on KING5.com.
Story
Local News | 2 hikers injured on Mount Ellinor in WA | Seattle ...
Authorities say the accident happened at about 5 p.m. on Saturday, in the
area of an avalanche chute, nearly 5500 feet up Mount Ellinor. ...
Story

Three injured climbers rescued from Mount Ellinor - Seattle- msnbc.com
In a span of about 12 hours, three hikers had to be rescued from Mount
Ellinor, two by Navy helicopter in the dead of the night.
Story

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Keep in mind some OMR merbers do live in Mason County. The responce delay normally is due to being requested late in the game

Mossy Mom said...

It is a shame it takes so long then for dispatch then... I hope to be on the hasty team if I can ever get all my training.

Anonymous said...

Please do not place blame on the SAR units! As stated, the problem lies with the authorities to decide which action to take. Mountain Rescue units are highly trained, highly experienced units that can handle the complex rigging and terrain travel that this rescue required. They also train to use helicopters with efficiency. In this case, the Sheriff had to contact Wa. St. DEM to request a helicopter, who is to blame for slow action and organizing the incorrect helo asset initially. Research prior to laying judgement!

Mossy Mom said...

I never blamed SAR units. I simply said that a unit that is 30 miles closer to the mountain can respond faster. I am a member of SAR. If the politics are going to be this heavy I want nothing to do with SAR. I hate politics and I'm sensing a load politics related to SAR.

Mossy Mom said...

Another thing I was airlifted off the Olympics myself and I'm well aware of the bullshit politics related to air lift and how they delay everything.

Geez maybe SAR is not for me.