Hikers help rescue man who fell 100 feet in Mount Baden-Powell

Amy Powell Image
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Hikers help rescue man who fell 100 feet in Mount Baden-Powell
A 69-year-old man was recovering Saturday night after hiking and sliding down a 100-foot ice chute in Mount Baden-Powell in the San Gabriel Mountains.

WRIGHTWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- A 69-year-old man was recovering Saturday night after hiking and sliding down a 100-foot ice chute in Mount Baden-Powell in the San Gabriel Mountains.

An injured hiker moaned as he struggled to pull himself up a steep, slippery mountainside.

Ted Youmans, his daughter Ryan and her boyfriend Dustin were hiking on Mount Baden-Powell off Angeles Crest Highway at about 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

They turned back when they realized the conditions were too treacherous.

Youmans recorded video after coming across the injured 69-year-old man, just as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department rescue helicopter arrived on the scene.

"He was a mess. He was very bloody. He was very scratched, all kinds of abrasions," said Youmans.

Youmans said he helped wrap the victim with rescue blankets he carries when he hikes.

Rescuers stabilized the injured man and hoisted him up to the helicopter.

Youmans says the experience was a reminder that hikers need to be well-prepared.

"There was a lot of people coming up for the holiday weekend, and we're just saying stay off there unless you have the proper gear," he said.

The man was airlifted to a trauma center with a possible broken leg.