Wednesday, August 16, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
9
SAR lifts climbers off Sisters mountains
Search and Rescue person-
nel retrieved a Portland man
from South sister after the
man fell on a hike last week.
According to Deschutes
County Sheriff ’s Office
reports, Deschutes County
911 received a call on August
7 at about 3:40 p.m., report-
ing a male subject had fallen
while descending the summit
of South Sister and sustained
injuries that left him unable to
continue his descent under his
own power. The man was later
identified as 66-year-old Steve
Bachelder from Portland.
Bachelder was reported to be
on the climber’s trail between
the false summit lake and the
true summit.
The Deschutes County
Sheriff’s Office Search and
Rescue unit was notified
immediately. A total of 13
volunteers and one deputy
responded to the call.
A hasty team of two DCSO
SAR members with Advanced
Life Saving training were
taken by an AirLink helicopter
and dropped off several hun-
dred meters from Bachelder,
while 11 additional members
started hiking in from the
Devils Lake trailhead packing
a wheeled litter and additional
rescue gear.
Upon reaching Bachelder
and assessing his injuries
and mobility, the hasty team
determined that an air ambu-
lance would be needed to
safely extricate him from the
mountain. However, the area
where Bachelder was located
was not suitable to land a
helicopter.
Lightning was seen in
the area and the hasty team
decided moving Bachelder
down to a lower elevation
would need to be accom-
plished as soon as possible,
and they wouldn’t be able
to wait for the litter team to
arrive.
With the help of fellow
climbers on scene, the hasty
team moved Bachelder down
to the false summit lake and
requested AirLink respond to
evaluate that area as a suitable
landing zone.
When AirLink arrived in
the area, the false summit
proved insufficient for landing
and they diverted to a landing
zone about one mile away and
1,500 feet lower in elevation.
At about 9 p.m., the litter
team met up with the hasty
team at the false summit.
Bachelder was packaged into
the litter and the SAR team
began moving him down the
trail to the waiting AirLink
helicopter.
A t 11 : 4 5 p . m . , t h e
SAR teams reported they
had reached the AirLink
Hel i co p t er an d p as s ed
Bachelder’s care off to the
flight medics. Bachelder
was flown via AirLink to St.
Charles Medical Center in
Bend for treatment.
The DCSO SAR members
then hiked out to the trailhead
and returned to Bend, arriving
back to their headquarters at
about 2:30 a.m.
It proved to be a busy week
for SAR personnel.
On August 12, at about
11:25 a.m., Deschutes County
Sheriff ’s Office (DCSO)
Search and Rescue (SAR)
was dispatched to a report of
a climber on North Sister who
had a rock collapse during the
ascent to the summit, causing
an injury that forced the climb
to be discontinued.
T h e c l i m b e r, J o s h
Lockerby, 49, who was part
of a group of about a dozen
Mazama climbers, was pro-
vided assistance by the team
in beginning the technical
descent down the mountain
beginning at 10,030 feet of
elevation. The summit of
North Sister is at 10,085 feet.
AirLink was requested
to transport two DCSO
SAR Mountain Rescue Unit
PHOTO COURTESY DCSO
A rescue helicopter landed on North Sister to rescue an injured climber on
Saturday — the second rescue of the week on the Sisters mountains.
(MRU) teams of two to the
saddle between North Sister
and Middle Sister to assist
the Mazama group in the
technical descent. The first
MRU team landed at the
saddle at about 1:35 p.m. and
began their ascent toward
Lockerby’s location. The sec-
ond team arrived at the saddle
as soon as AirLink was able to
fly back to Bend and return.
After DCSO MRU team
members made contact with
the Mazama group it was
determined the injuries sus-
tained by Lockerby would
require air transport to a medi-
cal facility, if possible, versus
the long hike out to the Pole
Creek trailhead.
An Army National Guard
Blackhawk helicopter was
requested to assist in the res-
cue of Lockerby from the
lower end of the southeast
ridge of North Sister. DCSO
MRU members, assisted by
Mazama members, were able
to locate a suitable landing
zone to enable the Blackhawk
to land at about 1930 hours
versus using the hoisting
option. Lockerby was then
transported to St. Charles
Medical Center, arriving at
about 7:50 p.m., where he was
treated for serious non-life-
threatening injuries.
MRU members along with
the Mazama group walked
back out to the Pole Creek
trailhead, arriving at about
10:45 p.m.
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