VERLOT — Rescue crews used a helicopter to fly a stranded hiker with an injured ankle down from near the summit of Mount Pilchuck on Saturday.
Dispatchers had received a call from the 22-year-old man around 5:45 p.m. Friday.
The man, whose hometown was not provided, told authorities he hurt his ankle during a day hike and could not walk back, Snohomish County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Brand said. The man and two companions were reportedly in the snow line around 5,100 feet and were setting a fire to keep warm.
The SNOHAWK 10 helicopter was unable to reach the man Friday night because of the weather, Brand said. A Snohomish County Search and Rescue team hiked in, met the hikers and stayed overnight.
Around 7 a.m. the next morning, the helicopter crew flew the man to the U.S. Forest Service’s Verlot ranger station where an aid car was standing by, Brand said. The injured hiker’s companions and the rescue party hiked down the mountain.
The injured hiker was taken to Providence Medical Center in Everett for treatment.
Volunteer rescuers from Kitsap and Skagit counties, as well as Olympia, assisted.
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