Two rescuers were dropped in by helicopter, while seven more followed in vehicles, navigating a network of four-wheel-drive roads, Inyo County Search and Rescue said in a statement. To shift the boulder off Mr. DePaolo’s leg, rescuers rigged a complicated system of ropes and pulleys. The precarious operation used a pulley system anchored to a rock lower on the hillside to shift the boulder away, while a jack lifted it in increments...
“If any point in the connection between the jack and the boulder had failed or something happened, the thing would have just slammed right back down on top of him; it was a very delicate balance.” [said injured hiker's companion].
"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
Now I Fly, Bronco, Pyrites Hiker Mama
"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
SAR is truly amazing and night helicopter flights are not without risks.
Really sad is how the incident started.
NYT article you linked to:
That day, Mr. DePaolo and his friend, Josh Nelson, had hiked to a spot near the Santa Rita Flat, in the Inyo Mountains in California, to look for “cool rocks.”
He was digging in the sand of the steep hillside, about a foot below the boulder, when it dislodged and rolled down, ramming straight into him.
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