Three separate hiking mishaps turned Camelback Mountain into a busy rescue scene Monday, as Phoenix technical-rescue crews pulled three people off the Echo Canyon Trail in quick succession. Two hikers were hoisted out by the city’s Firebird helicopter, while a third was guided down the slope on foot. One of the airlifted hikers was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
The first call came shortly after 11 a.m., when a woman injured her ankle about a quarter of the way up Echo Canyon. Phoenix Fire Capt. Todd Keller told Arizona’s Family that crews requested Firebird to hoist her off the mountain. While firefighters were still handling that rescue, they came across a second woman who was dizzy from the heat and escorted her down on foot. As crews were preparing to clear the scene, a third call came in for a man who had fallen and injured his shoulder. He was also airlifted from the mountain and transported to the hospital as a precaution.
City Urges Common-Sense Precautions
The City of Phoenix says more than 200 hikers are rescued from its desert parks and preserves each year and is again pushing its “Take a Hike. Do It Right” guidance. Per the City of Phoenix, that means picking a trail that matches your experience, packing extra water, lacing up proper footwear and heading out during cooler hours instead of in the heat of the day.
How Crews Extract Hikers
Phoenix’s technical-rescue teams rely on a mix of ground rope systems, the single-wheeled “big wheel” litter and short-haul helicopter hoists when the terrain or a patient’s condition makes a standard carryout too risky. Similar hoist work and big wheel operations have been documented in earlier Camelback incidents, including one recent account that detailed the tactics crews deploy on steep sections like Echo Canyon…