A helicopter crew hoisted three teens off the Sierra Buttes

Three teenage boys visiting from the Folsom area were lifted off a cliff on the Sierra Buttes on Sunday, October 25, The Mountain Messenger reported. Sierra County Sheriff Mike Fisher said they had started a day hike at Sardine Lake, headed for the lookout, and climbed the steep rock instead of taking the stairs. They reached a point where they could not climb back down.

The boys sent an SOS from a Garmin inReach. The sheriff's office said the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services relayed that alert at about 2:30 p.m. Sierra County started a search and asked the Nevada County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Mountain Rescue Team and the Washoe County Sheriff's Office RAVEN helicopter to help. Nevada County said 20 members responded from Nevada City and Truckee. The plan was for the helicopter to try a hoist, with the ground team ready if a rope rescue was needed.

The crew found the boys on steep, exposed ground south of the lookout. Fisher said the drop-offs made a ground rescue difficult and potentially dangerous. A rescuer was lowered from the helicopter, and all three were hoisted to a landing zone where Sierra County deputies were waiting. Fisher said they were tired and cold but in good physical condition, and they were returned to their vehicle. He asked visitors to stay on established trails and to treat technical climbing as different from hiking. He also said cell coverage is unreliable in much of Sierra County, so a satellite messenger, or a phone that can send satellite texts, is worth carrying.