Three stranded on exposed 8,600ft California mountain summit — as daring rescue launched

A satellite communicator saved the lives of three hikers stranded on an 8,600-foot summit in the Tahoe National Forest.

The Sierra County Sheriff’s Office launched a search and rescue operation after one of their Garmins sent out an SOS alert from Sierra Buttes around 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Officials called in mutual aid from Nevada County’s Search and Rescue Mountain Rescue Team and Washoe County’s RAVEN helicopter unit.

Scouring the Sierra Buttes, the aerial crew spotted the three stranded hikers clinging to a steep, exposed ridgeline just south of the lookout tower.

“Due to the difficult terrain and hazardous location, a helicopter hoist rescue was necessary. The RAVEN crew lowered a rescue team member to the stranded individuals,” Sierra County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post.

Last week, a 39-year-old Florida man spent two nights stranded on Shastina Peak with a badly injured leg before a massive rescue operation finally got him off the mountain.

After he reached the 14,179-foot summit Sunday afternoon, an erroneous GPS route sent him onto the Whitney Glacier, where he fell through a snow bridge at 12,600 feet and severely injured his leg.

Earlier this month, two young hikers endured a freezing, 36-hour ordeal on California’s Mount Shasta after losing their way in treacherous terrain.

The 19-year-old man and 20-year-old woman, both from Salt Lake City, became trapped between towering cliffs. The pair had planned only a day hike while a friend continued to the summit.

When they finally called for help around 10:20 p.m. on Oct. 12, they had been too cold and exhausted to safely complete their descent from the 14,179-foot mountain.

At around 4 p.m. on Oct. 13, rescuers heard shouting from the gulch and finally located the stranded hikers near the bottom, about 1,000 feet from the McBride Springs Trail.

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