Two men stranded on route
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September 9, 2001 |
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By Garrick Lohoda
Idyllwild Town Crier
Less than 24 hours after searching for two climbers in the same area, eight members of RMRU took part in a much more challenging rescue
"We got a page out at 11 p.m. to take two men from San Diego down from the face of Tahquitz Rock. They were stranded about 100 feet down from the top when darkenss hit and they called out to other climbers for help," said Darrell Bell, a spokesperson for RMRU.
Three of the RMRU group climbed in the dark immediately to the top above the two men and established a base behind the "saddle" to set anchors for three more men to come up and help pull up the stranded climbers.
It was not an easy trek up the Rock. It's very unstable and there's a lot of brush. We got them both down and all of us were down by about 5:30 a.m."
Mr. Bell siad that the two men - Brett F., 32, and Andre Torres, about 30 - "were cold and thirsty but were unharmed. They were climbers who just got caught in the dark. Not everyone know how hard it is to climb Tahquitz."