a couple of unprepared hikers got lost in the Shining Rock WA over the weekend. sucks for them because we were blessed with 6"+ of snow over the weekend and some frigid temps. these guys luckily had a cell phone and were able to call out. the GPS wasn't working right, however, so their location wasn't being transmitted when they called 911. they cobbled together a small fire, and after a massive search they were found. here's some FLIR imagery of the hoist operation in conjunction with the NC National Guard. it looks like they snatched them with their Eurocopter instead of a Guard UH-60, but i know the guard was involved. these jokers are lucky they made it. good job to our local guys! they do amazing things here in WNC.
Yep, we were following this. David Walker is a good friend of ours and we have trained with him. The man is simply awesome when it comes to search and rescue in that area.
they are an awesome resource to have around. i recently went through a helicopter ops class through the fire department and learned a lot more about HART and their capabilities.
