On the evening of Sunday January 23 at approximately 2149 hours the Team was called to assist a pair of stranded skiers on San Joaquin Ridge to the lookers right of the Hourglass up-track. The pair of skiers, one male, one female, were attempting to traverse from MMSA across the San Joaquin Ridge, and descending the Yost Creek drainage.

As noted in the ESAC reports, avalanche conditions were benign, but snow conditions were firm, and in some spots impenetrable. On the descent, the female skier fell and slid a significant distance, and while uninjured, was shaken and unwilling to continue the descent due to the firm conditions and steep terrain.

The pair contacted friends to assist them, and after some consideration the friends contacted the SO to ask for assistance before departing on their own rescue mission. The rescuers were proposing to travel up the Yost Creek drainage to assist, but the SO recommended that they abort their mission.

The Team responded to the JMSA parking lot, and 4 snomos and drivers transported a field team of 4 to the summit of June Mountain. The lights of the stranded skiers were visible from this location. The field team descended to the saddle below the Hourglass, and learned that the stranded skiers had managed to cut steps in the firm snow and had descended to safer terrain.

The field team escorted the skiers in a contour around to Matterhorn, and they skied down to the bottom of J7. One subject (and a 60 pund pup) were loaded into the Rescuboggan, and one rode on the back of the towing sled, and all were safely delivered to the JMSA parking lot. The op concluded at 0323 hours on Monday morning.

IC: Way Ops Leader: Beck Responders: Hartstrom, Knight, Evans, Quiring, Senior, Godshalk, Endo