California Highway Patrol Helicopter Executes Technical Rescue of Two Climbers Stranded on Big Sur Cliff

A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew successfully extracted two climbers from a treacherous ravine near Hurricane Point in Big Sur on Saturday evening after the pair became stranded approximately 600 feet below the roadway. Video footage released by the CHP documented the H-70 aircraft hovering above the steep terrain as rescue personnel descended on cable to reach the trapped individuals.

Big Sur Fire Department initiated the emergency response at approximately 6:24 p.m. and requested assistance from the CHP’s Paso Robles Air Unit. The extreme slope of the ravine presented significant operational challenges, preventing the rescue technician from safely disconnecting from the hoist mechanism after reaching the first climber.

The technician instead secured the first climber into a Pelican rescue harness, and both were hoisted together to personnel stationed at a designated staging area. The helicopter then returned to execute an identical rescue procedure for the second climber, safely delivering both to waiting rescue teams.

Neither climber’s identity nor the circumstances of their entrapment were disclosed by authorities. Both individuals survived the operation without reported additional injuries, according to CHP officials.

The agency characterized the rescue as representative of high-risk, low-frequency operations that require continuous specialized training. “There is no room for error when operating in steep terrain, under hoist, and in challenging environmental conditions,” CHP stated in a prepared statement.

The Big Sur rescue marked the third major operation conducted by the same H-70 crew on August 9, following separate extractions of an injured 13-year-old hiker from Pinnacles National Park and a waterfall accident victim in Big Sur Gorge, plus the evacuation of a heat-exhausted hunter from Los Padres National Forest.