Dramatic helicopter rescue of injured skiers caught on camera
A group of backcountry skiers were rescued from a mountain in Washington state, where authorities found and hoisted them into a helicopter in a dramatic nighttime operation. At least one of the skiers had fallen 1,000 feet, and at least two were injured and unable to walk, authorities said.
Footage of the rescue mission last week shows crews piloting two helicopters for King County Sheriff's Air Support team over thick wilderness near Stevens Pass, a ski area in Washington's Cascades. One helicopter, the Guardian 1, used heat sensors to identify the group of three men who had become stranded with injuries on a steep section of the mountain crowded by tall trees.
The air support unit said its crews launched their rescue mission just after sunset last Wednesday, Jan. 22, at the request of the Chelan County Sheriff's Office. The office had received an Apple Watch SOS alert indicating a male skier fell about 1,000 feet and suffered a leg injury. Apple's "SOS" feature allows users to transmit emergency messages through a satellite connection, so distress calls are dispatched even in areas where cellular or Wi-Fi services aren't available.
Once the backcountry skiers were located on the mountain, air support learned two of the three men were injured and could not walk. Rescue crews hoisted each of them from the mountain into one of their helicopters, which transported the trio to safety.
The air support unit shared video of the gripping ordeal on social media.
"Spicy rescue from Weds night," the unit captioned a post on X that includes a link to the footage on YouTube. "We had limited information from an iOS satellite distress call near Union Peak. We launched Guardian 1 to locate the victims and Guardian 2 to facilitate the rescue."
Spicy rescue from Weds night. We had limited information from an iOS satellite distress call near Union Peak. We launched Guardian 1 to locate the victims and Guardian 2 to facilitate the rescue.
https://t.co/bJk2Nt0T8C
— KCSOAirsupport (@KCSOAirsupport) January 24, 2025
Authorities did not share the names of any of the backcountry skiers involved.
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