CHP Helicopter Rescues 2 Climbers Stranded 600 Feet Below Big Sur Road

Q: What critical mistake left two climbers trapped 600 feet below a California highway during an already exhausting day for rescue teams?

The critical mistake has not been publicly identified. Authorities said only that the two climbers became stranded on a steep chute near Hurricane Point, about 600 feet below Highway 1, and did not explain what specific action or decision left them trapped. What is clear is that they ended up in terrain so steep that even the helicopter rescue technician could not safely detach from the hoist once lowered in. That forced CHP’s H-70 crew to perform two separate “double extractions,” lifting the technician and each climber out together in a Pelican rescue harness. The rescue came late in an already punishing day for the air crew, which had already handled three other emergencies: an injured 13-year-old hiker at Pinnacles National Park, a person badly hurt in a fall at a Big Sur waterfall, and a hunter suffering heat exhaustion and dehydration in Los Padres National Forest. So, while the climbers’ underlying mistake remains unknown, the available facts show they either climbed or descended into a highly exposed section of Big Sur’s cliffside and could no longer get themselves out, triggering a technically demanding helicopter hoist rescue.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 25

Two climbers stranded 600 feet below the roadway near Hurricane Point were hoisted to safety Saturday by a California Highway Patrol helicopter crew.
CHP said Big Sur Fire requested the Paso Robles Air Unit at about 6:24 p.m., and video shows the H-70 hovering over a steep ravine as a rescue technician was lowered by cable.
Steep terrain prevented the technician from disconnecting from the hoist hook, so each climber was secured in a Pelican rescue harness and lifted out together with the rescuer in two separate maneuvers.
Both climbers survived, though CHP did not identify them or say how they became stranded; online commenters praised the air crew after the agency posted video of the operation.
CHP called the mission a high-risk, low-frequency rescue and said the same H-70 crew had already handled multiple difficult hoist missions on Aug. 9 in Pinnacles, Big Sur Gorge and Los Padres National Forest.