Hikers Severely Injured In 800-Foot Fall Rescued After 3 Days On California Mountain

Two hikers who were severely injured after falling some 800 feet down a California cliff were finally rescued three days later, after numerous attempts by multiple helicopter crews were thwarted by high winds, officials said.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said the rescue began when hikers Veda Lin and Christopher Ng fell some 800 feet down a snowy cliff from a ridgeline trail on Tahquitz Peak, about 8,900 feet above Idyllwild, Calif. RCSO’s Rescue 9 helicopter initially responded and made “several attempts” to hoist the victims, but was unsuccessful due to high winds.

The sheriff’s office said Cal Fire helicopter 608 and an Orange County Fire Authority helicopter also made several attempts, but were unsuccessful due to low clouds and high winds.

Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit volunteers reached the victims on foot overnight Saturday, according to the sheriff’s office. On Sunday, helicopter Rescue 9 and Cal Fire helicopter 608 made another several attempts at rescue, but failed due to mountain obscuration and high turbulence surface winds.

As the hikers remained in the mountains, snow continued to fall and nighttime temperatures dropped to as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

Finally, on Monday, after three more attempts, the Rescue 9 helicopter crew was able “affect a windy hoist” of Ng, who was the more severely injured of the two hikers. He was flown to Desert Regional Medical Center for treatment. Cal Fire helicopter 608 then successfully hoisted Lin, and she was transported to the same hospital for treatment.

Lin and Ng told KCAL News they had only planned on a simple day hike when they set out on Saturday.

“We ended up slipping on the ice up there, just lost our footing and ended up falling down,” Lin told the outlet. “Which we didn’t realize was 800 feet until we were with the search and rescue team.”

“We kinda held onto each other as we were falling,” Ng said. 

Ng sustained a fractured leg and frostbite on one foot, while Lin fractured her sternum, her spine, and her face.

After they fell at around 3 p.m., they were focused on surviving, alone through most of the first night, as their phone battery eventually died.

“The first night, we huddled under a tree,” Lin said. “The tree blocked the wind, which was really nice. Most of it, it was still freezing, and like body warmth and heat held us together until search and rescue could get us.”

Ng said it was hard to see helicopters circling overhead and unable to reach them, and Lin recalled that as darkness fell, nearby animal sounds were “terrifying.”

They were only alone for about 12 hours before rescuers reached them with warm clothes, sleeping bags and heat sources.

“It was just such amazing work from them, because they had to take care of us a swell as also fighting off the weather themselves,” Lin said.

“So appreciative to them, they just really put it all out there,” Ng said. “They always had someone make sure that we were okay, even in the most stormy weather.”