California Highway Patrol Helicopter Rescues Two Climbers from Big Sur Cliff

<p>Two climbers in California were stranded on a steep cliffside in Big Sur on Saturday, located 600 feet below the roadway. A California Highway Patrol (CHP) helicopter crew was deployed for their rescue.</p><p>Video footage released by the CHP shows an H-70 helicopter hovering above a ravine near Hurricane Point while a rescue technician was lowered on a cable to reach the climbers.</p><p>The Big Sur Fire Department requested assistance from CHP’s Paso Robles Air Unit at approximately 6:24 p.m.</p><p>The steep terrain prevented the technician from safely disconnecting from the hoist hook after reaching the first climber. Instead, the technician secured the climber in a Pelican rescue harness, and both were lifted to safety by the helicopter.</p><p>The helicopter then returned to perform the same maneuver to rescue the second climber.</p><p>CHP did not disclose the names of the climbers or the circumstances that led to their predicament.</p><p>Social media users expressed appreciation for the CHP air crew and the rescue teams involved after the video of the operation was shared online.</p><p>“Incredible rescue!! Well done guys!!” one commenter stated. Another remarked on the “amazing job by all involved,” while another added, “Just incredible, you guys, thanks for what you do!”</p><p>Both climbers survived the incident, according to authorities.</p><p>“These high-risk, low-frequency rescues are exactly what CHP Air Operations personnel continuously train for,” the agency noted. “There is no room for error when operating in steep terrain, under hoist, and in challenging environmental conditions.”</p><p>This cliffside rescue followed two separate missions conducted by the same H-70 crew on August 9.</p><p>The air unit first hoisted an injured 13-year-old hiker from Pinnacles National Park, collaborating with a Paso Robles Fire Department helicopter rescue technician, as reported by CHP.</p><p>Later that day, the crew rescued an individual who had sustained severe injuries from a fall in Big Sur Gorge.</p><p>The H-70 also responded to another call in the remote Los Padres National Forest, where a hunter suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration was brought aboard using a hover step-on maneuver and flown to waiting medics in King City.</p>