Mount Si hiker dies, another rescued

A hiker died on Mount Si last week, and another was rescued from the same mountain on Saturday, May 16, after a 50-foot fall near the summit, according to local reports. King County helicopter crews airlifted the injured hiker after ground teams reached the person on the Haystack Scramble, KIRO 7 reported. The rescued hiker was recovering after being taken to a hospital, the station said. The two incidents unfolded on one of the Seattle area’s most heavily used hiking routes, near North Bend. ### Where did the Saturday rescue happen? North Bend-area rescuers said the injured hiker fell on the Haystack Scramble near the summit of Mount Si on Saturday morning. KIRO 7 identified the rescue area as the Haystack Scramble, an off-trail traverse near the peak, and King 5 reported the fall was about 50 feet. The mountain’s Haystack section is steeper and more exposed than the main trail. (yakimaherald.com) Doug Casey of Seattle Mountain Rescue told KIRO 7 that conditions were severe during the operation. “It was snowing and blowing and it was seriously cold,” Casey said. He said the terrain is “deep enough that if you fall, you’ll either get injured or die.” ### How was the injured hiker found? Nearby hikers heard the injured person calling for help after seeing him earlier at the top, Erik Swanson of King County Explorer Search and Rescue told KIRO 7. (kiro7.com) Swanson said those hikers had spoken with him, then later heard weak cries for help as they prepared to leave. They called 911, triggering a response that included King County Explorer Search and Rescue, King County 4x4 Search and Rescue, the King County Incident Support Team, SPART and Seattle Mountain Rescue, KIRO 7 reported. Erik Swanson told KIRO 7 the bystanders were critical to the outcome. “If they had not seen him, if they had not heard him calling out for help, there was probably not going to be anybody else up on top of that mountain for the rest of the day,” he said. ### Why did crews use a helicopter? Ground medics reached the hiker first, but cloud cover initially kept the helicopter from making the hoist, KIRO 7 reported. (kiro7.com) Casey told the station crews were prepared to carry the hiker down the trail if weather did not improve. Once the clouds cleared enough, a helicopter crew hoisted the hiker out and took the person to a hospital, ending what KIRO 7 described as a six-hour mission. King County says its Sheriff’s Office is responsible for search-and-rescue operations in the county and that its Air Support/Search and Rescue Team works with trained volunteers year-round. The county says the air unit has completed close to 700 rescues and that people rescued are not billed for the service. (kiro7.com) ### What is known about the fatal incident? A separate Mount Si hiker died last week, according to the Yakima Herald-Republic and follow-up coverage summarized by King 5. The reports linked the death and the Saturday rescue only by location and timing, describing them as separate incidents about a week apart. Publicly available reports reviewed here did not identify the person who died or give a cause of death. (kingcounty.gov) ### What should hikers know now? King County rescuers told KIRO 7 that summit conditions can differ sharply from weather at the trailhead. Casey and Swanson said the Saturday rescue was a reminder to check mountain weather, carry essentials and be prepared for winter-like conditions even in spring. King County’s search-and-rescue page says emergencies in the backcountry should be reported through 911. (kiro7.com) (yakimaherald.com)