This Is an Emergency

WITH AMERICANS SURGING ONTO PUBLIC LANDS LIKE NEVER BEFORE, SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS ARE BECOMING OVERWHELMED—AND HELP IS NOT ON THE WAY.

- MARC PERUZZI

ON A WARM JULY day in 2013, a 48-year-old Texan named Nancy Allen and her 18-yearold daughter, Sara, set out to climb Mount St. Helens from the Climber’s Bivouac trailhead. The five-mile hike to the 8,365-foot summit of this famous Washington State volcano, which became 1,300 feet shorter after it erupted in 1980, is a strenuous route up rough terrain. But the pair reached the top without incident, presumably gazing into the crater with wonder and a sense of accomplishment.

Unfortunately, the Allens got lost on the way down, and Nancy fell from a small outcropping, injuring her leg. At 8 P.M. she called 911, and the Skamania County sheriff’s office dispatched a well-trained crew of search and rescue volunteers called the Volcano Rescue Team. A few hours later, SAR specialists reached the Allens and assessed the situation. According to subsequent news reports, the hikers were still high on the mountain, with temperatures already dipping into the low fifties. They were wearing shorts and Tshirts, and Nancy was unable to walk.

The rescuers decided to give the women extra clothing and blankets and called additional team members to hike up with a litter, so they could carry Nancy down the mountain. The trailhead was just a few miles away, but the physical rigors of hauling out an adult meant that the extraction would take anywhere from seven to fifteen hours. After a couple of hours of this, Nancy asked if it would be possible to call a helicopter.