After completing a training flight earlier in the evening on Monday, January 18th, 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard Station North Bend received an emergency call regarding an emergency situation that had developed after a reported 42 year old female had reportedly fallen about 50 feet and sustained serious injuries, and the National Guard was unable to assist until the morning.
An aircrew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter was dispatched to a reported fallen hiker near Grayback Mountain, Oregon, at approximately 11:00pm, after receiving an agency assistance request from Oregon Emergency Management at approximately 9:00pm.
At 11:45pm, the aircrew arrived on scene and lowered rescue swimmer Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technician 1 Trevor Salt, to the snow covered terrain of Grayback Mountain at approximately the 7000′ elevation to evaluate and render immediate care. Salt was equipped with an EMT kit, hypothermic capsules to keep the hikers warm, and a patient care monitor, totaling approximately 150 pounds of gear.
Salt conducted an assessment of the injured hiker who it was discovered had actually fallen approximately 1200 feet, bandaged up several lacerations on her head, and placed her in a C-collar before putting her in one of the hypothermic capsules, which are essentially large sleeping bags with access points for continued treatment. After splinting the arm of the injured hiker and placing her in another hypothermic capsule, Salt then started leveling out the snow so there was a working area and room for a shelter.
Coast Guard rescue swimmer Salt remained on scene overnight until an Oregon Army National Guard aircrew aboard a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter arrived to complete a hoist evacuation the following Tuesday morning at approximately 11:45am.
The survivor and one other uninjured hiker were transported to awaiting medical personnel in Medford. The rescue swimmer was subsequently transported to Sector North Bend.
33 year old Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technician 1 Trevor Salt provided life-saving assistance to two hikers, including one who had been seriously injured in a fall, in the mountains of Oregon and has been named the Military Times’ 2021 Coast Guardsman of the Year.
