KING COUNTY, Wash. — Four teens were flown to safety last week after they found themselves in an unsafe spot on Surprise Mountain.
The King County Sheriff’s Office tells KIRO 7 News it got a call from the emergency satellite text function on an iPhone.
Looking at the coordinates, the coordinator of King County Search and Rescue determined it would take 10 to 12 hours to get there on foot, so he requested the rescue helicopter to hoist the people from the mountain.
A crew of two pilots, a hoist operator, and two rescue specialists found the hikers and hoisted them to safety.
The pilot says the group was on a steep hillside with jagged rocks and intermittent snow fields, making it difficult for them to get down without any help.
No one was hurt.
The crew flew the young men to the Skykomish Airport, where they were then given a ride to their car at the trailhead.
The hikers had to leave their heavy gear bags behind, but multiple members of Seattle Mountain Rescue helped to retrieve them this week.
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