'Wet avalanche' leads to daring rescue on California mountainside
By
Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather senior editor
Published Apr 27, 2020 4:56 PM EST
This helicopter rescued a pair of climbers on San Jacinto Mountain in California. They found themselves caught in an avalanche triggered by heat on April 24.
A heat wave sent many California residents to the beaches this past weekend as a way to try to escape the stifling temperatures and regain a sense of normalcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Others took to the mountains as a way to take a quarantine break, but for two daring mountain climbers in Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles, an outdoor excursion nearly turned fatal late last week.
The Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, described on its website as “a group of volunteers trained and ready to respond to wilderness emergencies,” wrote in an incident report posted Friday, April 24, that two hikers were rescued by helicopter from the north face of San Jacinto mountain after not being able to hike up or down the rocky slope due to “extreme avalanche danger.” Despite climbing to an elevation of 7,000 feet, the hikers were still able to receive cellphone service to call for help.
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The hikers “were a bit shaken up but otherwise uninjured,” said Tyler Shumway, a member of the unit who helped coordinate the rescue and wrote the incident summary. Shumway said one of the hikers had lost his equipment after being struck by a large block of snow but was still wearing a helmet. "It is remarkable that he did not have a single scratch given the size of these slides," he said.
The pair had been attempting to climb the challenging Snow Creek route, described by SummitPost as “one of the premier alpine climbs in Southern California.”
"These two made the right choice to stay where they were and call for help," added Shumway.
Rescuer Tyler Shumway prepares to assist the two hikers seen farther up the mountainside. (Photo/Blake Douglas Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit)
Due to the hazardous conditions, a rescue by foot may have been out of the question, Shumway wrote, thanking the helicopter pilot and technical flight officer from the Riverside Sheriffs Aviation Unit for "performing flawlessly."
With the helicopter able to transport only two people at a time, Shumway waited behind with one of the hikers while another member of the rescue team flew with the other to the desert floor. During the wait, Shumway caught video of another wet avalanche, which went on for more than 90 seconds. Snow could be seen flowing down the mountain like a white river.
“The subject that I was with stated this has been happening all afternoon,” Shumway wrote. “It was utterly amazing to witness the raw power of the mountain.”
(Image/Tyler Shumway Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit)
There are multiple types of avalanches. According to Avalanche.org, a wet avalanche is one where warm weather, sun or rain can decrease the strength of the snowpack or even change the mechanical properties of the snow. They can achieve a speed of about 10-20 mph, slower than dry snow avalanches which can race down mountainsides at speeds up to 60 or even 80 mph.
The heat wave, which produced temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, followed a stormy stretch of weather earlier in April that brought much-needed rain throughout the state and late-season snow to mountainous regions. The mountain rescue team said the heat wave had contributed to a number of avalanches in the past week and reiterated to hikers the need to use extreme caution when venturing into high-risk areas of the mountains.
The spring often comes with a number of weather-related risks that hikers throughout the country should be mindful of when they plan a trip.
“Understanding snow composition and how each year is vastly different than the last is crucial in successfully completing this [Snow Creek] route,” the rescue unit said. The incident post noted that hikers should wear bright-colored clothing when performing treacherous hikes such as this one. The two hikers rescued Friday were initially hard to spot because they were wearing darker clothing, the report said.
“Although temperatures have soared into record territory across portions of California in recent days, plenty of snowpack remains in place across the high terrain,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
The heat in the Southwest is forecast to build through midweek, with several locations in California expected to challenge daily record highs, according to Buckingham.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Weather News
'Wet avalanche' leads to daring rescue on California mountainside
By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather senior editor
Published Apr 27, 2020 4:56 PM EST
This helicopter rescued a pair of climbers on San Jacinto Mountain in California. They found themselves caught in an avalanche triggered by heat on April 24.
A heat wave sent many California residents to the beaches this past weekend as a way to try to escape the stifling temperatures and regain a sense of normalcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Others took to the mountains as a way to take a quarantine break, but for two daring mountain climbers in Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles, an outdoor excursion nearly turned fatal late last week.
The Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, described on its website as “a group of volunteers trained and ready to respond to wilderness emergencies,” wrote in an incident report posted Friday, April 24, that two hikers were rescued by helicopter from the north face of San Jacinto mountain after not being able to hike up or down the rocky slope due to “extreme avalanche danger.” Despite climbing to an elevation of 7,000 feet, the hikers were still able to receive cellphone service to call for help.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The hikers “were a bit shaken up but otherwise uninjured,” said Tyler Shumway, a member of the unit who helped coordinate the rescue and wrote the incident summary. Shumway said one of the hikers had lost his equipment after being struck by a large block of snow but was still wearing a helmet. "It is remarkable that he did not have a single scratch given the size of these slides," he said.
The pair had been attempting to climb the challenging Snow Creek route, described by SummitPost as “one of the premier alpine climbs in Southern California.”
"These two made the right choice to stay where they were and call for help," added Shumway.
Rescuer Tyler Shumway prepares to assist the two hikers seen farther up the mountainside. (Photo/Blake Douglas Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit)
Due to the hazardous conditions, a rescue by foot may have been out of the question, Shumway wrote, thanking the helicopter pilot and technical flight officer from the Riverside Sheriffs Aviation Unit for "performing flawlessly."
With the helicopter able to transport only two people at a time, Shumway waited behind with one of the hikers while another member of the rescue team flew with the other to the desert floor. During the wait, Shumway caught video of another wet avalanche, which went on for more than 90 seconds. Snow could be seen flowing down the mountain like a white river.
“The subject that I was with stated this has been happening all afternoon,” Shumway wrote. “It was utterly amazing to witness the raw power of the mountain.”
(Image/Tyler Shumway Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit)
There are multiple types of avalanches. According to Avalanche.org, a wet avalanche is one where warm weather, sun or rain can decrease the strength of the snowpack or even change the mechanical properties of the snow. They can achieve a speed of about 10-20 mph, slower than dry snow avalanches which can race down mountainsides at speeds up to 60 or even 80 mph.
The heat wave, which produced temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, followed a stormy stretch of weather earlier in April that brought much-needed rain throughout the state and late-season snow to mountainous regions. The mountain rescue team said the heat wave had contributed to a number of avalanches in the past week and reiterated to hikers the need to use extreme caution when venturing into high-risk areas of the mountains.
The spring often comes with a number of weather-related risks that hikers throughout the country should be mindful of when they plan a trip.
“Understanding snow composition and how each year is vastly different than the last is crucial in successfully completing this [Snow Creek] route,” the rescue unit said. The incident post noted that hikers should wear bright-colored clothing when performing treacherous hikes such as this one. The two hikers rescued Friday were initially hard to spot because they were wearing darker clothing, the report said.
“Although temperatures have soared into record territory across portions of California in recent days, plenty of snowpack remains in place across the high terrain,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
The heat in the Southwest is forecast to build through midweek, with several locations in California expected to challenge daily record highs, according to Buckingham.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo