Injured Hiker Requires Multi-Agency Response in Wrangell-St. Elias NP
Pararescue personnel with the Alaska Air National Guard load an injured hiker from a Pave Hawk helicopter to an air ambulance at the McCarthy airport.
Photo courtesy of Stephens Harper/NPS.
By Amanda Swinehart
Multiple local and federal agencies were involved in the rescue of an injured hiker several miles outside of Kennicott last Wednesday, May 26.
A pair of hikers were near Donoho Peak when one of them “lost footing and rolled hundreds of feet down a snow-covered slope,” Park Ranger and Incident Commander Stephens Harper said in a press release. “The fall triggered a snow slide which then carried the victim over a cliff into a ravine.”
According to the press release, the man’s hiking partner, who was uninjured in the accident, contacted the National Park Service (NPS) via cell phone around 5 p.m. and was able to provide GPS coordinates of his friend’s location.
The NPS then contacted the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center (ARCC) to notify them of the incident and request a hoist-capable aircraft be placed on standby.
Wrangell Mountain Air, a flightsee and air taxi service based in McCarthy, flew over the accident site and confirmed the injured hiker’s location with the NPS.
Travel on foot from Kennicott to the Donoho Basin can take several hours, but a group of first responders with the Kennicott Wilderness Guides (KWG) were already in the basin on their annual spring guide training trip, according to Carrie Wittmer, a public affairs officer with the park.
Approximate location of the injured hiker outlined in red.
Photo courtesy of Stephens Harper/NPS.
They were first on scene and liaised with Dr. Jennifer Dow, NPS Alaska Region Medical Director and emergency room physician for Alaska Regional Hospital, to provide emergency medical care.
In a press release from the Alaska Air National Guard (AK ANG), Harper said while the responders were on the phone with the doctor “they heard the snow shifting above them and moved the patient to higher ground before a second snow slide traveled down the ravine.”
The NPS helicopter was unable to land safely due to snow conditions and steep terrain but dropped medical supplies to the responders. The NPS then requested deployment of a hoist-capable aircraft, and at approximately 8 p.m. the ARCC contacted the AK ANG, who dispatched a Pave Hawk rescue helicopter as well as a Combat King II helicopter to provide aerial refueling and assist with relaying information to rescuers on the ground.
Once on scene, a pararescuer was lowered to the patient and helped stabilize him for transport. The victim was transported in the Pave Hawk helicopter to the McCarthy airport where he was transferred to an air ambulance and flown to Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage.
Wittmer said that the uninjured friend’s ability to communicate quickly and provide GPS coordinates helped with the rescuers’ timely response. She reminded anyone traveling into the backcountry to check with local experts about on-the-ground conditions and to have communication methods in place before leaving. Cell phone service is unreliable in most areas of the park, and she recommended travelling with a satellite phone, InReach, or similar device.
“Designate a point of contact and make sure someone, a friend or family member, knows what your plan is and when you should be back,” she said.
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