Two Stuck Climbers on Tahquitz Rock
June 27-28, 2026
Tahquitz Rock, Idyllwild
2026-23
Written by: Richard Yocum
When RMRU received the callout at 10:24 pm on 6/27/2026 for two climbers stuck in the dark on Tahquitz Rock, it was just one hour after the team had completed a 6-hour mission for a dehydrated, exhausted PCT hiker 3.6 miles and 1,430 feet higher elevation from Snow Creek. Team members were enjoying a late dinner in Palm Springs and most drove directly to Humber Park and began arriving at about 11:30 pm. The climbers had requested help that reached Riverside Sheriff’s Office (RSO) Dispatch, presumably via the SOS on their iPhone. RSO Rescue9 helicopter flew the area but determined the winds were too high for them to conduct a rescue. No one was able to contact the climbers to request additional information. Other than a set of GPS coordinates from RSO Dispatch, nothing was known about the climbers except that they got stuck in the darkness. There was no report of injury or medical problem.
The coordinates placed the climbers on the north face and likely more than half the way up, but in order to plan how to reach and extricate them RMRU sought additional information, such as the route they were on and how far up the route they were on. They were not visible using RMRU’s comm van spotlight on the rock. Using the RSO patrol unit loudspeaker, we requested that they flash a light if they could hear us. They responded with two flashes of light. Additional requests, such as how many pitches they were up, were met with only a confusing series of light flashes, but they must have heard the queries because a short time later we were informed by Dispatch that they were on the West Lark route. RMRU estimated that they were 200-400 feet from the top of their route.
With only 7 RMRU members at Humber Park, most of who were fatigued from the just-completed mission, not to mention their physical activities earlier in the day, RMRU conducted a careful review of the options for rescue. The upper sections of routes on the north face are notorious for dangerous loose rock and several climbers have died as a result. The night was clear with low risk of significant hypothermia. There was no report of injury or medical illness. The number of rescuers on scene was minimal to conduct a rescue system raise of both subjects. RMRU made the difficult decision that the risks outweighed the benefits for initiating a rescue during the night, and instead at 1:30 am on 6/28 requested mutual aid assistance from other SAR teams, with plans to assemble adequate resources at 5:00 am and begin the rescue at first light.
With me running the Command Post at Humber Park, a team of 5 RMRU members deployed at 6 am to take the Climber’s Trail to the Tahquitz Rock notch and then traverse to the top of West Lark, make voice contact with the climbers, and build anchors for a lowering/raising rope system. Team members would set rock pro at various locations on the lower to serve as directionals to keep the ropes as far away from loose rock as possible. The team made voice contact with them, confirming no injuries.
A second team, consisting of 5 members of Sierra Madre, was deployed at 8:40 am, also carrying gear for another rope system. A third team, consisting of members of both San Diego County teams, was formed and also instructed to following the same route and bring a full rope system. Meanwhile, RMRU had earlier requested aerial support by RSO Aviation and/or drone team, but both determined that the winds, with forecast of gusts up to 50 mph, were too high. When Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) Air Rescue 5 Super Puma helicopter requested to assist, discussion ensued about the benefits versus risks of an extraction by ground teams versus a hoist, especially given the winds, high-angle terrain, and that RSO Aviation had previously declined.
The ground teams and both climbers were instructed to secure themselves against the powerful rotor wash from Air 5, which arrived on scene at 9:15 am. Battling the winds, Air 5 was able to hoist both subjects and transport them to the nearest landing zone, at Keenwild Fire Station, in Mountain Center. The SAR teams hiked back to Humber Park and the mission was wrapped up at about noon. It remains unknown exactly how the climbers were “stuck.”
RMRU Members Involved: David Altenburg, Dave Bever, Jon Butler, Nathaniel Desforges, Matt Frenken, Eric Holden, Geoff Marshall, Will Pendleton, Stephanie Robertson, and Richard Yocum
Other Agencies Involved: Sierra Madre Search and Rescue, San Diego Mountain Rescue Team, San Diego Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Unit, RSO Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT), RSO Aviation, and LASD Air Rescue 5 helicopter