LEAVENWORTH — A Seattle man was rescued by helicopter Saturday after he was stuck below Dragontail Peak and could not continue on the Enchantment Loop Trail.
Temperatures were forecast to hit below zero Saturday night after the 36-year-old man was rescued from near the base of the mountain near Isolation Lake, according to a Chelan County Sheriff's Office news release.
RiverCom 911 dispatch first received a call around 9:30 p.m. Friday from the state Department of Emergency Management which reported a hiker in distress.
Sgt. Jason Reinfeld said the hiker planned to hike the Enchantment Loop Trail but had gotten "weathered-in" and could not move any further and was trapped and freezing.
The sheriff's office search and rescue coordinator along with Chelan County Mountain Rescue determined it couldn't send rescuers to the hiker due to an avalanche risk in the Aasgard Pass area, according to the news release.
A hoist-capable helicopter from the U.S. Army Air Ambulance Department made several attempts through Saturday to reach the hiker but were forced to turn around due to weather issues.
The mountain rescue group deployed Saturday with the assistance of Chelan County Volunteer Search and Rescue. Their plan was to hike to Colchuck Lake to provide assistance if the hiker could make it down Aasgard Pass, if conditions improved, according to the news release.
But at 4:50 p.m. Saturday, the helicopter was able to fly to the hiker and hoist him out. He was transported to Yakima Memorial Hospital in stable condition with cold-related injuries.
