CHP helicopter pulls out injured backcountry skier from Donner Lake area

A California Highway Patrol helicopter was called out to help with an injured skier who in the backcountry with three friends between Donner Lake and Boreal Ski Resort on Friday.

The victim said he and three other skiers had started their day at the Donner Pass Rest Area, hiked up the mountain for some backcountry skiing and then injured his lower leg while skiing down a shoot between two cliffs. The group used a cell phone and called 9-1-1 to request help. They were found near Flora Lake at approximately 7,500 feet in elevation.

CHP H-20 out of Valley Division Operations was on patrol when they got the call. H-20 landed and picked up a third crew member, Sergeant Yops, from Truckee CHP Office. Using the hoist, they placed Yops next to the victim where he was able to get the injured man into a hoist rescue harness and prepared him for extraction.

The H-20 took the injured party back to the Command Post where a Truckee Fire Department ambulance was standing by to transport the patient to a local hospital.

The attached video is from CHP-Valley Division's facebook page.