Climbers Safe, One Injured, After Dramatic Chelan County Rescue

Two mountain climbers are safe while one has a broken leg after a mishap in northern Chelan County Sunday evening. 

A call came to Rivercom Dispatch at about 8 pm Sunday that a climber had broken a leg, and a companion climber lost his rope and was unable to rappel down off a cliff on Cutthroat Peak. 

Chelan County deputies secured a rescue helicopter from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, but the attempted rescue just after midnight was aborted because of heavy snowfall. 

Chelan County Mountain Rescue personnel were brought in, and several members left Wenatchee at approximately 11:45 pm, arriving at the trailhead at 2:45 am Monday. 

The climbers were on the Cauthorn-Wilson Couloir on Cutthroat Peak. The location is in a portion of Chelan County that sits off State Route 20 North Cascades Highway, which meant rescue personnel had to travel a long distance by vehicle to reach the trailhead. 

The group hiked in and located the victims at approximately 6:22 am Monday.  

As a second team of Mountain Rescue members left Wenatchee to assist, the weather had cleared and the Navy helicopter made a second attempt at a rescue, again coming from Whidbey Island. 

The helicopter left at 9:05 am Monday and Chelan County Mountain Rescue reported at about 10:40 am the injured climber was rescued and was being flown to Harbor View Medical Center in Seattle. Mountain Rescue personnel escorted the uninjured climber back to the trailhead. 

Sheriff's Chief Ryan Moody says Chelan County Mountain Rescue personnel are an extremely important part of the rescues they conduct. 

"Chelan County Sheriff's Office is super thankful for the Chelan County Mountain Rescue team," said Moody. "Those guys really know what they're doing and can really be relied upon."