Helicopter rescue on El Diente 7 August?

[pinhead]

While camped at Navajo Lake Thursday night, Aug 6, we saw a helicopter buzzing El Diente, apparently the south slopes. Friday morning, it landed on the summit. We were the last party to make the traverse from El Diente to Wilson on Thursday, and the weather was perfect. Does anyone know what the helicopter was doing on El Diente?

[mtnhigh358]

Can a helicopter land on El Diente?

[RobertKay]

Can a helicopter land on El Diente?

Of course. They are magic.

[onebyone]

Well, they must be busy:
http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2 ... /31385263/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Broken leg, but okay!

[Grover]

I was in Kilpacker Basin on Thursday night and witnessed this helicopter activity at about 8 p.m. I was hoping to find out what exactly the issue was. The helicopter hovered on the ridge for 5 mins just west of the Organ Pipes, pulled away, did a loop around the Wilson Group, then came back to the same spot to hover again.

[msc]

On Friday it flew around several times, then landed high in Navajo Basin near the Wilson Peak side. My son talked to a couple who had visited with the pilots. A hiker called from the summit of El Diente unable to get down on his/her own. They dropped off rescue personnel mid-morning to guide him/her down, then had the copter land later and wait. We had climbed the North Buttress route that morning and witnessed them coming down the standard route. El Diente is tough, especially alone and apparently without sufficient planning.

[MatuRunsWithWolves]

I work at a newspaper in the area, and was compiling our weekly law enforcement incident round-up when I happened upon the answer to this question. Good news: the hikers are fine! This is from the San Miguel County law enforcement log, 8/6/15:

San Miguel Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue assisted Dolores County planning for the rescue of two uninjured hikers on the saddle between El Diente and Mt. Wilson. A helicopter attempted to pluck the hikers from the ridge but was not able to. They were able to drop or lower a pack with survival gear for the hikers who had to spend the night at an elevation of about 13,950 feet. The following day crew’s the from San Miguel County Search and Rescue team were flown in by a rescue helicopter and assisted the two hikers to safety.