Orienteering and High Angle Rescue training pictures and videos from Sunday at Buckhorn have been posted to the gallery and the teams Youtube page.

Images featuring the newspaper coverage in The Pasadena Independent and The Mirror from August, 1951 covering the rescue of a 17 year old boy have been added to the Archival Images section of the Gallery.

"Sheriff's deputies and volunteer searchers brought Walter Weirich out of the rugged foothills of Bailey Canyon early last night."

"The youth, 17, was alive but suffering from severe exposure and shock. He was lost Sunday on a hiking trip. "

Click Here to see all the images.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

At 0814 hrs AMRT was called out for a 19 year old female cliffhanger reported high above the Cobb Estate in Las Flores canyon. The call came in from a friend of the stuck person who stated she had started from Chaney trail and headed east.

A second informant called in and stated he could see her east of where he was and gave us GPS coordinates for his location.

As team members made their way up the Mt. Lowe road to access the stuck girl from above, they observed a Fire Dept. helicopter moving in to hoist the girl up and fly her to a landing zone at Farnsworth Park.

A second AMRT unit met the helicopter at Farnsworth Park, and brought the girl who was uninjured back to the Altadena Sheriff's Station.

Upon returning to the AMRT Headquarters the girl was interviewed as to how she came to be stuck in such a dangerous location, far from any maintained trail.

She stated that friday night she decided that she wanted to go on a hike. She set her destination to be the summit of Echo Mountain and looked it up on Google maps.

She began hiking shortly afterward by herself (Saturday morning at approximately 0240 hrs. AM!) She left Pasadena near Caltech where she is a student, walked all the way up Lake Ave, approximately 5 miles, across Loma Alta drive, and up Chaney Trail, approximately 3 miles.

When asked what provisions she had taken along with her, she stated, a cell phone, her credit card and some cash (for a cab in case she was mugged.)

She brought no food, water, warm clothes, or flashlight.

She had not told anyone of her plans.

After hiking up the Mt. Lowe road for approximately 2 miles she decided to go off trail to find a different route to echo mountain.

Shortly thereafter she took a fall of approximately 10 feet and was only stopped when she hit a bush just before a major drop off.

This is when she called her friend and stated her predicament, requesting that rescue teams be called.

Later it was learned that she was stopped by a Sheriff deputy as she was approaching the mountain and was warned not to proceed.

When asked how well she felt her plan and preparations (or lack thereof) and ignoring a warning from law enforcement had worked out for her she stated, "It was fine."

Lessons to be learned:

Proper preparation is needed prior to setting out on a hike, including knowledge of which specific trails you are to be taking.

It is ALWAYS safest to remain only on established trails.

You should ALWAYS have food, water, a flashlight and proper clothing and footwear.

You should ALWAYS tell someone where you are going, the route you are taking, and when you plan to return.

You should ALWAYS stick to that plan.

It is best never to hike alone.

You can fill out a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue Hiking Plan Sheet and provide it to someone just in case something happens and we need to come to your aid.

LASD Air-5 Helicopter Cliff Rescue of 19-yr old So. Pasadena Woman above Altadena. 2 more teens rescued on the ground.

A U.S. Forestry Recreation Technician working in the Angeles National Forest noticed several people who appeared to be trapped on a cliff near Altadena and called in rescuers at 11:57AM on Sunday.

By 12:25PM, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Air-5 Rescue pilots & Emergency Services Detail (Special Enforcement Bureau), had rescued a 19-year old South Pasadena woman who had gone on a day hike with friends and became trapped on a cliff with a 100 foot drop to a canyon below.

Gallery

Images from training in Joshua Tree in 2008 and Winter Recertification in 2011 can now be vieweed in the Gallery.

To view the images, click here.

New pictures have been added to the Gallery from the November 13th High-Line training along with a previous training session in The Sequoias.

To view these images, click here.

On Sunday November 13th, the Altadena Mountain Rescue Team completed a successful day of high-line training. To view pictures from that day, click here.

Two members of Altadena Mountain Rescue who have been in Sheriff's Reserve Academy had their Pinning and Graduation Ceremony on Monday. We're proud to have our teammates back after 6 months of hard work. Congratulations! Unfortunately, for a few of us, just as we arrived in Down Town L.A. for Graduation we needed to turn right back around to respond on a call for a hiker stuck on a cliff in Eaton Canyon.....

The day started bright and early at 0700 with team training in Moist Canyon and Coyote Canyon. We practiced tracking and rescuing an uninjured victim. It was also a great opportunity for our newest member to learn some of our local terrain.

Similiar to our last posting, two stranded hikers were rescued on Wednesday night after getting stuck on Tom Sloan Ridge. The two intended to finish off with a shuttle and parked a vehicle at the Millard Campground parking lot. They began their hike at Switzer's off Angeles Crest Highway just past the Clear Creek Ranger Station. They hiked down the Arroyo and into Bear Canyon. Before the fires, the trail wasn't in too bad of shape. However, since then with the lack of foot travel, overgrowth, and any damage caused by the fires, the two lost the trail and were forced to climb up the side of the canyon wall. They did make it to the top which put them on Tom Sloan Ridge and soon they hiked to the saddle. At that point, the hikers stated that the trail was in terrible shape and became tired and unsure of continuing. They called for help. Altadena Mountain Rescue was notified of the two lost hikers at 10:38pm. Our point of entry was the upper gate to the Mt. Lowe Fire Road off of Chainey Trail. Two units were in the field. Unit One began the drive up the fire road while Unit Two stayed back at the gate to provide additional support if needed. During this time, Unit Two stayed in cell phone contact with the missing persons via text messages. Getting through on the phone was "iffy" however, texts work quite well. This helped greatly in that they were able to state when they were able to see our lights and gave us their position in relation to where we were. The road becomes impassable due to rock fall up high. Unit One continued to move forward on foot and made contact with the missing persons soon after. They had no injuries and were escorted back to our vehicle and driven back down. The two were released at their parked vehicle. The op went well!

Two standed hikers were rescued on Tuesday night. The two started off at the Eaton Canyon Nature Center with the intent of hiking up to the first falls. They did just that and decided on a side trip up Acrophobia Ridge. The two lost their way while on the ridge and continued making their way up instead of back down to canyon bottom. Ultimately, they ended up near the set of power towers atop the canyon wall, just north of the Mt. Wilson Toll Road Bridge. The two phoned their parents who, in turn, called emergency services for help. Altadena Moutain Rescue was notified at 9:18pm of the two stranded young men. When we arrived on scene, (Pinecrest Gate), we were informed that residents could here the two calling for help. A two person rescue crew was driving up the Mt. Wilson Toll Road. When the crew stopped and called out for the missing persons, they could here responsive crys for help. As they scanned the moutian side, they were able to see a flashing signal light. Once the light was spoted, a plan was made and a four person rescue crew made their way up a game trail from the backside of the moutain and made contact with the two stuck hikers. The rescue crew gave the two hikers water, helmets and harnesses. The rescue crew helped the two hike back down to safety as the rescue crew laid out safety handline lines for support. The two were taken back to their parked vehicle at the Eaton Canyon Nature where their family members were waiting. A happy ending and everyone made it home safely.

Team paged for Lost Hiker 2106hrs. Lost hiker near Millard Campground, uninjured, cannot hike out due to leg cramps. The Operation Leader was able to make phone contact with the victim and because all Team members are required to have very good knowledge of the trail and terrain in their area, was able to figure out almost exactly where the missing hiker was. He was instructed to stay where he was and signal the rescue vehicle when he saw it.

R1 was dispatched up the Mt Lowe Rd and found the hiker very close to the Lowe Rd gate. The R1 crew chief made sure the hiker was uninjured and noticed he had 2 backpacks. He questioned the hiker and learned the pack belonged to the hikers girlfriend. Upon further questioning learned that the hiker was one of 10 people doing an overnight camping trip and that he became separated from the group. He was not sure where they were supposed to camp and didn't know which way to go at a trail intersection and took the wrong trail. The Crew Chief suggested that the Team look for the rest of the party to prevent another call out later as he was sure the other members were looking for the missing member.

The crew chief was able to get vehicle descriptions and partial license plate numbers and R2 verified the vehicles were still there. They noticed lights coming down the Lower Sam Merrill trail, so staged themselves at the trailhead to question anyone coming out to see if they were looking for a missing hiker. Several large groups exited the trail, but none were missing a hiker.

The Altadena Mountain Rescue Team passed our technical rock recertification for the California region MRA with flying colors. Search and rescue teams from all over California all met in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine to be tested and re-certified on their technical rock rescue skills. Using a system described as "elegant" by our testing proctors, we were able to extract a simulated injured victim and transport him to safety over difficult rocky terrain while maintaining a high standard of medical care. Shown above is the team after the recertification including the two newest full members showing off their MRA patches.

At around 3pm on Sunday, February 20th, the Altadena Mountain Rescue Team was called on to rescue three teenage girls who had gotten themselves in a tight spot. The teens had been exploring the small canyons on the east side of the Eaton Canyon Nature Center, when they decided to start climbing up the side of the canyon. They had started with five girls, but at that point two of them decided not to make the climb, and turned back. The first two AMRT units to respond met up with the two teens at the Nature Center, and the girls then attempted to show the rescuers the route their friends had taken. When they failed to remember where their friends had started climbing, the search was on.

The girls were found at the head of Cascade Canyon on a ledge in a tight water runoff chute. Ahead of them was about an 80ft drop. They had the steep chute walls on both sides and a 15 foot vertical climb behind them. They had climbed down to this spot and became trapped. Also, from this position they couldn't see anything, and were unable to identify any landmarks that could help rescuers find them. Upon arriving on the scene, one rescuer rappelled down and secured the girls while his teammates set up a rope system to raise them out. They were all raised out of the chute and safely escorted down the side of the adjacent canyon. They all reached canyon bottom just as the sun was setting.

The Altadena Mountain Rescue Team is very proud to bementioned alongside some great organizations doing good work in our community. Thanks!