Site of accident below Banner-Ritter saddle
Michael Habicht Photo

The Mono County Sheriff Search & Rescue (SAR) team responded to three callouts in a two-day period. On Sunday, August 31, 2003, just shortly after midnight, the team was called out to rescue a climber who had slipped down a snowfield east of Mount Ritter. Doug Nolan of Freedom, CA, was reported to have fallen into a moat at the edge of the snowfield.

A SAR medical team hiked in at 3:00 a.m. followed by a SAR technical rescue team with litter and ropes. Upon arrival at the scene, the medical team found Nolan in great pain due to injury of his lower back. He was also vomiting. Marcos Brundall of Soquel, CA, a climber from the same group, who had stayed back to help his friend Nolan, suffered from symptoms brought on from lack of medication due to a previous medical condition.

Both subjects were assisted by a climber, Michael Habicht of El Segundo, CA, later that day who came to their aid while descending the peak. Habicht, who had advanced wilderness first aid training stabilized the subjects by keeping them warm with his sleeping bag and clothing until the SAR team arrived.

Yosemite National Park contract helicopter picked up the injured climbers using a short haul technique and transported them to an awaiting ambulance at Mammoth Airport.

Click here to see some pictures taken by Michael Habicht.

Yosemite National Park Search and Rescue website www.nps.gov/archive/yose/sar/ featured this operation.