Two hikers got lost and stranded on a ledge on Thunder Mountain on Sunday, according to authorities, and it took nearly two dozen responders to get them safely down.
Juneau men Jayce Hyatt, 24, and Dylan Wiard, 27, got lost as they tried to descend the face of Thunder Mountain, according to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch. Hyatt also hurt his knee, he told rescuers. At about 2 p.m., Juneau Mountain Rescue personnel went out to the area, JMR Operations Section Chief Jackie Ebert said Monday.
Ebert said the two men chose to go down the face of the mountain after they had gotten lost and couldn’t find the official trail. Rather than turn back and go the way they came, they decided to pick that path and got stranded, Ebert said.
Ebert said they sent 21 people to the scene — which is nearly 2/3 of JMR’s active responders on call — for the challenging rescue.
“We had a full technical team deployed through JMR because we had to physically lower both subjects off the mountain with rope systems and it was an eight hour-plus mission,” Ebert said via text message.
Fifteen of them were involved in the ropes operation, Ebert said, while the other six were involved in planning and managing the scene. JMR called Capital City Fire/Rescue around 8 p.m., Ebert said, and CCFR was able to carry the two men down with ATVs. Alaska State Troopers were also on scene,
Hyatt declined treatment on scene, Quinto said, and he was not taken to the hospital.
JMR and CCFR work together fairly often, and Ebert said this operation went smoothly.
“It was a great team effort in a tough working environment, and it was a pleasure working with CCFR in the capacity which they assisted,” Ebert said. “Our team was quick to respond and put in a strong effort.”
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
Juneau Mountain Rescue responders help get two hikers off Thunder Mountain on Sunday, June 9, 2019. (Courtesy photo | Juneau Mountain Rescue)
