"Thought that I was all alone
Broken and afraid
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me
And I didn't even know
That I had lost my way
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me "
Broken and afraid
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me
And I didn't even know
That I had lost my way
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me "
(song from the video below)
I am extremely proud of the volunteer men and women of my SAR team,
and the other rescue and EMS professionals we have the privilege to work with!!!
AZ DPS Air Rescue helicopter gets ready to haul out an injured fall victim on a rope out of a steep rugged N. AZ canyon.
See the Youtube video and story below.
This video is very unique since it was shot from the point of
view of our victim as he was rescued.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDiWdZGrD_k
Most of my regular readers know I am on a sheriff's search and rescue (SAR) team here in N. AZ. I sometimes refer to my experiences on this team because I am very proud of the incredible volunteer men and women on my team and of the sometimes very difficult work we do. I don't spend all my time tilting at industrial wind turbines.
Below is the story and pictures of one recent difficult rescue. This one ended very positively with a life saved.
About a week and a half ago my phone rang about 8pm. Our sheriff's dept. SAR team had just received an emergency signal from a SPOT satellite locator beacon. SPOTs are basically a radio that can send out an emergency message and location to a satellite and then the signal is sent to the appropriate emergency agency. We found out it was coming from a deep canyon called West Clear Creek Canyon, about a 2 hour drive south of Flagstaff by the time you take all the confusing very rough 4wd roads to get to the rim of the canyon. All at night!
“Canyoneering” is a sport that has become real popular, especially in N. AZ since we have such rugged terrain with many deep canyons. Canyoneering is exploring deep narrow remote canyons sometimes with ropes and climbing gear, and wet or dry suits since there can be deep water pools on the route. It is sort of mountain climbing upside down!
Previous to our arrival we immediately sent the AZ Dept. of Public Safety (Highway Patrol) helicopter to the location of the signal and they were able to locate the victim in the dark after searching, since the locator beacon was not 100% accurate. They could not land since the terrain was too rugged with tall trees. They took our cliff rescue team leader to look at the victim’s location. It didn’t look good, and it was obvious it was going to be a real long night, and that the rescue would likely go into the next day. It appeared the best route to reach the victim would be a possible bushy steep climbing / scramble route from the bottom of the canyon. Fortunately we had nearly a full moon to help with our headlamps.
Our subject appeared alive but badly injured, and was way up on the steep rocky side of the canyon, and cliffs prevented him from going further up. It looked as if he had fallen and tumbled to where he was located. We were real concerned because we didn’t know the extent of the victim’s injuries and the night was getting colder, so we were under pressure to reach him or at least establish communications with him if possible.
Two SAR ground teams were dispatched. One in the canyon bottom via a trail but there were numerous stream crossings in very cold water so they had dry suits and other technical rescue gear. The canyon team would try to locate the victim by climbing up from the bottom. A monumental task
I led the other team on the canyon rim. Our primary assignment was to find rim locations to provide a radio communications link from the team in the canyon to the command post back from the rim, and also to try to locate the victim from the top if possible. It involved a lot of challenging and precise navigation and route finding at night in steep exposed terrain. Another thing we spend a lot of time training for.
Once we placed all this info on our computer mapping program, it did look like it might be possible to scramble down a steep narrow ridge that stuck out into the canyon and at least get above the victim. It was hard to tell how far we might get on the ridge, or how safe it would be, especially since all this climbing/scrambling by both teams would be done in the dark.
It turned out we were able to descend the narrow ridge fairly safely, but it finally ended in steep rugged cliffs where we could go no further. But as luck would have it, after about 20 minutes of yelling, the victim finally responded almost right below us, but about 150 to 200 hundred ft. down. He indicated he had fallen and had a head injury, was very cold and had other injuries.
To put this in perspective, for those of you in CV or NNY, the 1000 Islands Bridge deck is about 150 ft. above the river at mid span.
The canyon team could hear us yelling and the victim’s response. By a lot of tough but excellent route finding in steep terrain the canyon team was able to reach the victim and they attended to his injuries, and his hypothermia since he was wet and the temperature was now getting cold quickly.
In a radio discussion with our command team, it was decided that our subject was unable to scramble out on his own, and a litter evacuation in this terrain, although possible, would be extremely difficult, but could be a last resort.
Up would have been a technical rope rescue over steep terrain and cliffs and dense brush and trees to reach the rim. Down would be basically the same just to get him to the canyon bottom, and then cold sometimes deep stream crossings and a long carry out up a steep trail. Carrying an injured human over his type of terrain can be exhausting and very dangerous., for the victim and the team.
It was decided the victim was stable enough and could be rewarmed on the spot and wait till first light where a helicopter “short haul” would be attempted.
A “short haul” is originally a Swiss mountain rescue technique where a helicopter lowers a rope, and the victim and an attendant are attached, and then “hauled” a “short” distance to a landing zone where the victim can be put inside the helicopter or transferred to another medical helicopter for a flight to a hospital.
Our helicopters don’t currently have lifting winches. It is still a risky procedure, and the short haulers, pilots, and helo crews do regular and intense training to make it as “safe” as possible.
The AZ Dept. of Public Safety Air Rescue helicopter "Ranger 42"
surveying the scene to assess a "short haul" operation. These incredible
professionals are called on to do some demanding flying in difficult terrain.
Soon they will land and remove the helicopter doors, remove extra
weight, and rig for the short haul.
Since much of the terrain in our county is so rugged and remote, short haul is a critical technique for us to use, but we don’t take it lightly and we carefully look at all the other possibilities first. I have been on some nasty ground rescue evacuations when short haul was unavailable or too risky. Short hauling is not done in the dark, so we had a long cold night to bivouac till first light. But we go prepared and equipped for this eventuality as part of our training.
Helicopter being rigged for a short haul on another rescue. Lots of equipment that
has to all work right, and is checked, double checked, and checked again
One of my SAR team partners getting warm in the morning sun after a long cold night!
My team was bivouacked perched on the canyon ridge on a rocky outcrop with steep drops all around for communications and other assistance if needed, and the other team was bivouacked with the victim part way up the steep canyon wall.
As you can see in the video, the victim was lifted out in the early morning. Fortunately the weather was good with almost no wind.
At minute 4:00 to about 4:06 in the video when the victim is lifted you can momentarily see our team observing in the upper right of the video on the rock outcrop on the rim.
I’ve attached another video I took from our location on the rim. As luck would have it my camera batteries ran out just before the victim was lifted out.
I think we saved a life…and that is a real good feeling, especially when considering the difficulty of the situation. A 200 ft. fall / tumble in extremely rugged terrain, alone and many miles from help or cell phone coverage could have ended very differently. Some of these rescues do not end this well…as you can imagine, even with a rescue beacon or cell phone.
Those devices only work if you are alive to push the button!!!
Back at the rescue truck packing up gear for the long
ride home. A soft bed and hot shower felt really good!!!
The vehicles are gassed up, the equipment is reorganized and stowed, radios are charged,
because the next search or rescue could come 24/7/365.
Stay safe!
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