At 1159 hours the Team was called to assist 2 climbers stranded on Laurel Mountain. The climbers stated via text message on their Inreach satellite device that they had climbed terrain they were unable to downclimb, and the terrain above was too difficult. The climbers did not have a rope, harnesses, or any gear to build anchors for a rappel.

Rescue base was established at the Convict Lake Dayhiker’s Parking Area, and a field team of 4 were boated across the lake to hike in and climb the Northeast Gully to reach the stranded climbers. Air resources were requested to expedite the rescue as there were thunderstorms in the area.

A field team was sent to establish a radio relay on a nearby ridge, and another team took the spotting scope to the southeast side of Convict Lake to attempt to locate the climbers. The climbers were located by the spotting team and determined to be one gully to the north of the Northeast Gully.

Shortly after the field team began their ascent, moderate rain began, and the rain-slicked rock was difficult to climb, so the climbing team was on hold until the rain stopped. In the interim, a UH-60 variant helicopter from Lemoore Naval Air Station arrived in the area. The spotting team guided the Seahawk to the stranded climbers via radio directions. The Seahawk off-loaded some gear, consumed some fuel, and tucked into the gully above the stranded climbers for a successful extract via winch. The rescued party was delivered to the Mammoth-Yosemite airport. The call was terminated at 1832 hours.

Lemoore Naval Air Station aircraft at the Mammoth-Yosemite airport after climber extraction. Image by J. Bush

IC: Pelichowski Ops Leader: Beck Responders: Buchanan, Bush, Case, Creager, Cucura, Dunne, Endo, Evans, Hartstrom, Kaufman, Patterson, Quiring, Senior, and Wallace.