Coast Guard rescues hiker who fell 120 feet on Mount Larrabee

A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew hoisted a 33-year-old hiker from Mount Larrabee after she fell 120 feet down a steep gully on the mountain’s south face and could not get down on her own. The rescue took place Saturday in Washington’s Mount Baker Wilderness, where steep terrain and fading light turned an injury on the mountain into a race against sunset.

The Washington State Emergency Management Division requested Coast Guard assistance because the evacuation had to happen before dark. The aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles searched the narrow gully for 40 minutes before spotting a reflection from other hikers on the mountain, who then led the crew to the injured woman. That break, in a remote setting near the Canada-U.S. border, made the difference between a stalled search and a helicopter hoist.

At about 8:40 p.m., with the aircraft operating at 6,710 feet and less than 10 minutes of fuel remaining to stay on scene, the crew completed a precision hoist and flew the woman to Bellingham Airport, where Bellingham Fire EMS was waiting. Lt. Cmdr. Marshall Burtt, the aircraft commander, said, “This successful outcome is a direct result of the outstanding teamwork and rapid coordination between our agencies,” and thanked Whatcom County Search and Rescue, the Bellingham Fire Department and the hikers who helped during the rescue.

Mount Larrabee sits inside the Mount Baker Wilderness in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, a region of northern Washington where remote trails, steep gullies and limited daylight can outpace even a fast helicopter response. The operation showed how much mountain rescues depend on coordination among state emergency managers, local search teams, bystanders on the trail and an aircrew working inside a narrow fuel and time window.