GRANITE FALLS — A string of rescues on Mount Pilchuck continued this week with another hiker needing help off the mountain.
It was the fifth time since June 8 that the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Search &Rescue team and its volunteers have been summoned to Mount Pilchuck.
This time a Sedro-Woolley woman, 18, needed help Monday after she fell through the snow and cut her leg while on a day hike, sheriff’s spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.
Searchers were deployed just before 5 p.m. They found her about 2 miles up the trail — and above the snowline, Ireton said. They helped her reach the trailhead by about 9 p.m.
Crews were told she would be driven by an acquaintance for medical treatment, Ireton said.
She and her hiking partner, as well as several others who required rescues in recent weeks, were ill-equipped for the conditions or to stay overnight, Ireton said.
Searchers reported that a late spring melt and heavy snow pack has made the trail up Mount Pilchuck slippery and hard to navigate.
All of the recent search missions occurred above the snowline. Longtime search and rescue leaders can’t remember so many missions to one location in such a short period of time, Ireton said
Two of those rescued were flown by helicopter off the mountain.
The round trip to the top of Pilchuck is 5.4 miles, with the hike starting at an elevation of more than 3,000 feet.
In an online description of the hike, the Washington Trails Association urges people to plan for the conditions on Pilchuck.
“Don’t let Pilchuck’s popularity fool you …” reads a review of the hike. “Even with its heavy foot traffic and respectable grade, this peak should not be mistaken for a bunny hill. There are perilous elements, especially in winter, when snow may obscure the path, leading hikers to improvise and become lost. Hikers often have to be rescued from the mountain, so please take all the necessary precautions before tackling the trail.”
Given the conditions, rescuers are urging hikers to use caution on Mount Pilchuck. Cellphone coverage on the mountain is spotty. Hikers should leave a plan with someone who can call 911 if they don’t return on time.
Rescue teams also were deployed to Sloan Peak in eastern Snohomish County on Sunday.
A Seattle man, 27, was climbing the peak Saturday as part of a class when he fell and broke his ankle. A climbing instructor activated an emergency beacon, which sent GPS coordinates to the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center in Florida, which in turn alerted local authorities around 5:15 p.m., Ireton said.
SnoHawk10, the rescue helicopter, was unable to reach the climber due to the weather. Rescuers on the ground made their way to the man by 8:30 a.m. Sunday. They provided first aid and moved him down the mountain’s glacier where he could be flown by helicopter to Darrington. An aid car then took him to a hospital.
Roughly 70 volunteers from across the state assisted with the operation, including some from Everett Mountain Rescue.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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