Inside the Carson Peak rescue

01 / 911 is called

A call from the cliffs

Injured and alone above Fern Lake, Scott called 911. These edited excerpts capture his request for help and what dispatch told him as rescuers mobilized.

Listen to Scott's call

Edited excerpts from two 911 calls on July 11, 2026. Scott approved sharing this recording.

Audio description: A phone rings. Scott reports falling from a cliff, bleeding, and being alone. He describes the steep terrain, says he cannot move and is losing consciousness. Dispatch says the team is heading out, that its members train for this work, and that help is on the way.

02 / The team is called

More hands on the mountain

The first callout reported a solo hiker or climber who had fallen above Fern Lake. Air support had been requested. The terrain and injuries pointed toward a difficult technical rescue, and a second callout was deemed essential to rally more volunteers, especially riggers.

Audio description: The initial callout reports a fall near Fern Lake, a head injury and an air-resource request. The follow-up asks team members, especially riggers, to respond. The recordings are presented in their original form.

At the trailhead, the team used a GAR safety assessment and an incident command process before deploying. A week of AvSAR training this year helped formalize those practices for calls in every season, not just winter. Donors supported the instruction that brought three instructors to the team and trained 12 members.

03 / The approach

A way through the cliffs

From Fern Lake, the east side of Carson Peak looked nearly impassable. Using CalTopo's 3D terrain view and slope-angle shading, rescuers picked out benches and ramps that might lead toward Scott's reported location. The team trains on CalTopo regularly and conducted an intensive advanced CalTopo training this year.

Two rescuers climbed toward a possible opening in the terrain. They heard Scott answer from roughly 300 feet below him, then found him in a recessed alcove that concealed him from the lake.

“After 911 was called and SAR was dispatched, the winds suddenly picked up, flies started swarming around my blood, and my vision began tunneling out - but I had a sunset view of June mountain. And right about the time I started to think this wouldn't be a bad place to go... I'll never forget the moment I saw the rescuers' red jackets, white helmets and smiling faces. They immediately provided essential care and communication to establish a plan out. As a former EMT I was secretly judging and within the first five minutes I knew I was in good hands with this team.”

04 / Reaching Scott

Care in the alcove

Scott was alert but seriously injured. A team member began medical care while another rescuer assessed whether a helicopter could lift him from the alcove. Mono SAR brings in a wilderness medical instructor each year to refresh these skills, through donor support.

Overhanging cliffs, walls on three sides and strong winds made that position look unsuitable for a hoist. With the aircraft expected, the rescuers decided to move Scott roughly 50 feet toward a more exposed ledge more suitable for a hoist in these conditions.

05 / The first move

Fifty difficult feet

One rescuer belayed Scott for the first pitch of the move while another attended him. They then carried Scott, who had been placed in the team's Screamer Suit (a full-body helicopter hoist harness), through the remaining distance. The movement was painful, but it gave the aircraft a better chance to reach him. The plan was to hoist Scott directly from the ledge.

06 / The turning point

The helicopter could not reach the ledge

After dark, the Army National Guard Blackhawk Helicopter, Spartan 978, made repeated passes but could not hold a stable hover over Scott's new position. An unexpected hover over Team 2, about 500 feet below, revealed a location where the aircraft could operate. Could the rescuers bring Scott down there before the aircraft's deadline to depart?

“I think the most significant moment was when we couldn't hoist on the first attempt. The team was faced with either waiting until morning, or completing one of the most technical mountain extractions in record time. I remember the silence of the team, followed immediately by strategizing a plan to get me safely down so I could be airlifted by 3:30am.”

07 / A new route

Bring Scott to the helicopter

Looking down by headlamp, the team identified a steep gully leading toward the lower hoist area. The plan changed: build a system to lower Scott through that gully while the aircraft went to refuel.

Throughout the operation, the team's TSat phones - cell phones with real-time satellite capabilities - supported communication, especially during the early coordination of air resources. Eight team phones keep this capability ready.

08 / The lower

Two pitches in the dark

Once the helicopter could not hold a hover at the ledge, the plan became a two-pitch lower. Rescuers shifted from the Screamer Suit to a Sked (a flexible rescue stretcher) for that ground descent. Team 2 brought the Sked up to Scott's location, along with a bolt kit and more rigging gear. The team built and reinforced anchors, packaged Scott, and lowered him with attendants on two ropes. An intermediate anchor station made a second pitch possible when the descent exceeded a single rope length.

Help equip the next response

09 / The extraction

At last, a hoist

When Scott and his attendants reached the lower location, rescuers secured the ropes and loose equipment. The helicopter returned, lowered its medic and lifted Scott from the mountain. The team's helicopter training guided its work with the aircraft throughout the mission.