Man rescued after falling and triggering an avalanche on Idaho’s tallest mountain
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CUSTER COUNTY — A Pennsylvania man was rescued early Sunday morning after falling on Idaho’s tallest mountain and triggering a small avalanche.
Hao Yan, 23, was hiking up the north face of Mount Borah when he fell Saturday evening, according to a news release from Custer County Search and Rescue. Mount Borah summits at 12,657 feet and climbers come from all over the world to climb the mountain.
Yan called 911 from his cell phone around 9:30 p.m. and said he needed help.
“The most the emergency dispatcher could receive was Yan had fallen, he could not move, he was lying in the snow covered by a blue blanket and he was very cold,” the news release says. “He relayed he was at approximately 11,500 feet, just below the north face access routes, only 700 feet below the northeast ridge line.”
It would take at least six hours in daylight for a rescue team to climb to Yan’s location, according to officials, so Custer County Search and Rescue called for the Two Bear Air Rescue helicopter team from Kalispell, Montana.
The helicopter arrived at Mount Borah around 1:50 a.m. and spotted Yan in a snow field at the base of the north face around 2 a.m. Within 30 minutes, officials say Yan was onboard the helicopter and then flown to an ambulance waiting at Smith Ranch.
Yan was taken to the Lost River Medical Center and flown by air ambulance to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where he was treated for severe hypothermia.
Yan told officials he was climbing alone when he fell and injured his back around 6:30 p.m. He triggered a small avalanche with his fall and was partially buried in the snow slide. He remained in the snow for approximately nine hours until rescuers reached him.