By Paul Roberts
The Seattle Times
MASON COUNTY, Wash. — Rescue crews evacuated a 51-year-old woman and a teenager from the Olympic Mountains on Sunday after both were hurt in falls.
Multiple agencies assisted in the eight-hour operation, which began around 1:15 p.m. Sunday with reports of a female hiker injured after falling in an icy avalanche chute on 5,944-foot Mount Ellinor, in the eastern Olympics, the Mason County sheriff’s office reported.
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Emergency officials later learned that a 16-year-old boy was also injured in the same area, the sheriff’s office said in a social media post.
After a helicopter rescue attempt by the King County sheriff’s office was thwarted by weather conditions, the hikers had to wait in the cold. They were finally plucked from the mountain by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter around 9:30 p.m., according to the Mason County sheriff’s Facebook page.
Kelly Hilliard Hamblin and the boy were flown to the Olympia Airport and transported by the Tumwater Fire Department to Providence St. Peter Hospital with minor injuries, according to the fire department’s Facebook page.
Thank you Mason County and (Mason County Special Operations Team) and all of the amazing strangers who waited in the cold to assist,” said Hamblin, an Aberdeen junior high school teacher who identified herself as the 51-year-old victim in a comment on the Mason County sheriff’s Facebook page.
Hilliard was hiking the winter route on Ellinor, a popular but challenging trail, when she fell down an avalanche chute, which she described as being coated with ice due to the lack of recent snowfall.
Initial reports indicated she had “abdominal injuries with suspected internal bleeding,” according to the Mason County sheriff’s office.
The 16-year-old boy, who wasn’t identified in reports, fell in the same chute, Hamblin said. Despite his injuries, he also attempted to assisted Hamblin, according to her Facebook comment. “A horrible accident was met with so much kindness.”
The rescue operation was led by Mason County Special Operations Team, with assistance by Mason County Search & Rescue and Olympic Mountain Rescue.
“This was truly a team effort,” said the Mason County sheriff’s office in a reply to Hamblin’s Facebook comments. The department also thanked Hamblin for “sharing the safety message about current conditions on the winter route.”
Mount Ellinor’s winter route “is steep and requires experience with snow navigation, knowledge of avalanche safety and traction devices/specialized gear,” according to the Washington Trails Association.
The association also recommends hikers “be conscious of your comfort and experience level with snow climbing before attempting the winter route.
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