Four hikers stranded by icy conditions at New York’s Kaaterskill Falls were rescued by forest rangers on Thursday, March 7.
According to New York Department of Environmental Conservation officials, a member of the four-person hiking group called for help when they couldn’t descend from Kaaterskill Falls in Hunter, New York.
When rangers arrived, they found the group did not have proper traction devices for the icy conditions and were stuck in the middle of the falls.
Rangers provided the group with crampons and microspikes. One of the hikers had gotten stuck on a separate section of the falls, and a ranger repelled down to assist the hiker to a safer area.
Once the group was together, rangers hiked them out to the Laurel House parking lot. All members of the group were released in good health upon reaching their vehicles.
In a separate incident last week, rangers received a 911 call on Saturday, March 9, regarding a 57-year-old man having chest pains while hiking to the top of Table Mountain in the Slide Mountain Wilderness Area.
Communications were poor and the patient was nearly four miles from Denning Trailhead, which made the mountain rescue challenging. Three different groups of rescuers, including forest rangers, NYC Department of Environmental Protection Police, and local fire and EMS personnel made their way into the woods to assist the patient.
Fortunately, a registered nurse was in the man’s hiking group and able to assist the patient while the hikers waited for help to arrive. EMS personnel reached the patient, assessed his condition as stable, and began the carry out.
Ranger Ken Gierloff met the group on the trail and brought the patient off the mountain via snowmobile. After six hours, the man was transported to Catskill Regional Medical Center for further care.