Placer County, Calif. July 15, 2017 – On July 13, 2017 at approximately 11:10 a.m., California Highway Patrol Helicopter 20 (H-20) was contacted by Cal-Fire Grass Valley Dispatch requesting a hoist for a fallen rock climber in the Twin Crags area near Tahoe City. H-20 was in the Truckee area and responded from Stampede Reservoir.
They arrived and spoke with North Lake Tahoe Fire Department personnel on scene. They advised a mid-20’s male had fallen approximately 20-30 feet and sustained serious injuries to his lower extremeties. With his injuries, the best means of extraction was a hoist inside a Bauman rescue bag. H-20 lowered a CHP-trained Helicopter Rescue Teammember with the rescue gear. The victim was placed inside the rescue bag and hoisted from the base of the cliff. He was flown to a pre-designated landing zone at the Tahoe City golf course and transferred to CareFlight 3 to save time. CareFlight flew the victim to Renown Medical Center in Reno for treatment.
Luckily one of the victim’s friends had a cell phone with him and was able to call 9-1-1 to summon help. This saved the victim valuable time and will be beneficial to his recovery.