King County Sheriff Helicopter Rescue of Man With Man-Bun

Mount Si lies on the western margin of the Cascade Range just above the coastal plains around Puget Sound, towering over the nearby town of North Bend in the U.S. state of Washington.

Between 80,000 and 100,000 hikers visit the mountain annually, trekking, scrambling, and climbing in the designated Natural Resources Conservation Area. A four-mile (6.4 km) long trail climbs a total of 3,500 feet (1,100 m) to the summit ridge, and the summit of Mount Si can be reached by an exposed class-three scramble up the north side of the summit block which is known as the "Haystack."

The man in this video, however, is on the south side of Mount Si, having ascended a 5.8 face rather than the class three gully (visible in this video climber's counter-clockwise 90 degrees).

It is hard to imagine how the man thought that he was on the right path, but he made the right call in requesting aid, and at approximately 12:45 pm on Thursday, August 9th, 2018 King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian 2 responded to the Haystack for the rescue of the cliffed-out scrambler-turned-climber.

Although King County Search and Rescue crews had been initially dispatched to make the rescue by foot, they were called off when Guardian 2 confirmed its availability and the man-with-man-bun was picked off the mountain and transported to Torguson Park in downtown North Bend.

This is the first time that the complete rescue footage is being made publicly available. Complete footage from Guardian 2's hoist camera will be posted shortly.

Enjoy, and climb safe.