California National Guard Rescues Hikers on Mount Whitney

A California National Guard Chinook helicopter was dispatched to Mt. Whitney on Tuesday, 27 July around 8 a.m. to rescue 3 hikers that were stuck, cold and wet from a fast moving storm. The Stockton based helicopter unit searched for 20 minutes before finding the hikers and landing the rear wheels on the top of the 12,000+ foot Mount Whitney, which sits on the boundary of Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park and the Inyo National Forest

“Landing with only their rear wheels on the mountain, the crew was able to safely load them and return them to the Bishop Airport,” Cal Guard reported in a social media post.

The hikers found the social media post and commented, “We are the hikers who called for help!” Raymond Urena wrote on the California Guards post.

The California National Guard has preformed multiple high altitude rescues in the Eastern Sierras.

A Chinook crew from the same California National Guard Unit made another Mount Whitney rescue in 2019, when an injured 30-year-old female hiker was airlifted out in a high-altitude hoist rescue, according to Guard archives.

News Staff