Eight missing members of a 13-person group from the UCLA Hiking Club were rescued Sunday morning after they became lost amid snow drifts above 8,000 feet in the San Gabriel Mountains, authorities said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue Teams were activated to look for the hikers, who were rescued near Throop Peak by the Montrose Search and Rescue team from the sheriff’s Crescenta Valley Station about 12:30 a.m., said deputy Mike Barraza.
“The conditions were snowy and icy, with some drifts causing the rescuers to plunge thigh-deep into the snow drifts,” he said, adding that five members of the hiking club group were able to make their way out of the forest while eight others became lost.
Barraza said it took rescuers six hours to hike the students out because of the “treacherous conditions.”
“To prevent the students from falling, the rescue team placed harnesses and ropes on them to safely lower them down icy slopes,” he said.
The students were “elated” when the rescuers found them, according to Barraza, who said some of the hikers were mildly hypothermic.
“None of the students required medical attention, and were taken back to their cars,” he said.
Rescue teams from the sheriff’s San Dimas and Palmdale stations also took part in the search, Barraza said.
— City News Service