Broken Wrist Tahquitz Rock
May 18, 2025
Route “El Whampo”
Mission 2025-018
Written by: Blake Rankin
At 13:20, RMRU received a callout for a technical rock rescue involving a climbing party on the route “El Whampo” with one member suffering from a broken wrist. The responding members organized and developed a technical rescue plan at the Idyllwild Fire Station, then met at Humber Park to begin the ascent up the North Gully of Tahquitz with ropes and the necessary technical gear.
The weather was a great day for climbing, and all available members were critical to assist in carrying a significant amount of gear to the base of the climb, including two 600 ft ropes, and climbing racks. Simultaneously, there was a second callout for a climber with a ruptured Achilles tendon, which complicated communications and resource allocation.
At 14:30, Rescue 9 helicopter performed a hoist of the injured subject. However, they communicated that the risk exceeded the urgency to return for the second, uninjured climber. Once sufficient gear and personnel arrived at the base, Rob and Blake roped up and led the two pitches of “El Whampo” to reach the stranded climber, who was the less experienced of the two and unable to self-rescue.
Upon reaching the belay station, Rob and Blake reinforced the existing gear anchor and built a rope system to lower the uninjured climber, with Rob acting as the attendant. Once both were safely on the ground, Blake rappelled on the same 600 ft rope, leaving the subject’s anchor to be retrieved by another party.
The climber was able to walk out under his own power and was soon reunited with his partner, who had been taken to the hospital for treatment of a broken wrist.
RMRU Members Involved: (David Altenburg, Trygve Anderson, David Bever, Alex Cochran, Donny Getz, Ed Gelbert, Shana Gutovich, Andy Hayt, Eric Holden, Glenn Henderson, Geoffrey Marshall, Tobias Moyneur, Rob Newton, Guillaume Plateau, Blake Rankin, Stephanie Robertson, Richard Yocum and Solan Watts)
Other Agencies Involved: RSO Aviation