A hiker in his 50s who fell off a steep cliff while hiking on June 15 in the Sisters Mountains in Sitka was rescued by a Coast Guard Air Station Sitka helicopter aircrew joined with Alaska State Troopers and Sitka Mountain Rescue personnel.
The man was transferred to emergency services in Sitka in stable condition, but with reported head injuries.
The rescue effort began after the Sitka Fire Department requested helicopter support for the man, who fell some 100 feet, and was reported to have sustained a head and potential back injury. Sitka Mountain Rescue crews escorted two other hikers who were with the injured man off the mountain after the man was safely hoisted to the Coast Guard helicopter.
The rescue occurred at 2,000 feet in elevation with three mile an hour winds, with patchy fog, light rain and the temperature at 52 degrees.
Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Jacobs, the pilot, said the challenging mountain rescue in deteriorating weather, altitude and rugged terrain “highlights the interagency cooperation, advanced training and unique mission sets that Coast Guard units execute daily in Southeast Alaska.”
