sport climbers epic

What's that Lassie? Timmy and his friends are lost in the hills above Sherwood Country Club?! And it is 2 miles north, south, or east to the nearest road in the RAIN! Quick, where's Arnold, we have to get to the chopper.

On Saturday night Nov. 27, I along with 2 friends were climbing in Echo Cliffs. Due to loss of daylight/visibility mixed in with the heavy rain we were unable to hike back to the lot (Sandstone Peak) getting horribly lost. We had to leave gear behind in a last ditch effort for survival in search for any kind of shelter. By 3am Sunday morning, we were rescued by getting airlifted by the Ventura Sheriff helicopter. We had left the gear along the riverbed down there somewhere. Wish I can be more specific but left a trail of neon orange tape around in the case we were able to get back to it. The rack included:

1 BD harness, 1 black harness, 1 bike helmet, 1 reverso, 2 trango equalizers, 2 atcs, 1 pair green Evolv shoes, around 10 biners locking/non-locking, assorted runners, orange/yellow Evolv chalkbag, etc…

If found, please PM.

Help another fellow climber recover what was lost in a due to unfortunate circumstances. Thanks!!!

All I can tell you is that my each of us had been to Echo Cliffs once before. One friend (3 of us stranded) had previously escorted out a couple of friends (not stranded) 3 hours earlier and was familiar with the trails. But as soon as it hit 4pm it got dark and started raining. We didn't have any waterproof jackets or boots. With weak 10-30 lumen flashlights (1 headlamp), we hiked back the way we thought we came. At a certain point on the trail we hit a dead end. After searching for 30 mins for the main trail, we hesitantly decided to take the riverbed, which should have led us to the picnic tables thus the main trail. A friend was carrying the rack on his shoulder (not in a backpack) that required steadying with one hand, on the other hand, there was a flashlight. The riverbed rocks were slippery and we could not rely on our feet at all. Visibility dropped dramatically as my glasses fogged up from the 40 degree F and showering rain. Every step we took we created the new path. We had to break branches, stomp vegatation, walk through streams, and such. After all this struggling, my friend wanted me to throw away my 50-pound pack, but I refused. He instead tossed the rack so he could stay balanced, free a hand, and prevent any more ensnaring from the wild branches/thorns. That was a good idea at the time. Finally, after 3 hours of hiking in this freezing, hopeless condition (talking about going 1/5th the normal speed), we decided to take shelter in a tiny cave. Luckily someone else had already stayed here before as we could tell from a wooden plank covering the top of the cave held by a wooden pole. We could not build a fire with any dry leaves, branches, or kindling we found nearby. Even after shaving twigs for an hour, the lighter could only burn some topo printouts and subway wrapping, but the tinder would just cherry out. Luckily, I pulled out a dry northface down jacket, which I gave to a friend. I had a nylon thermal long sleeve and pants, which I threw on. My second friend had it the worst as he was only wearing a thin wind breaker, 2 tee's, and pants. Still drenched and with a fire, we huddled closely throughout the night. The time went by slowly without a chance of sleep. At 2:30am, my friend heard a chopper in the distance and started yelling for us to get out there and signal with our flashlights. I was so delirious that I tried to ignore his words in an attempt to doze off and maintain the little warmth I had left. Of course, we eventually got up and strobed our lights, and they quickly located our base. After the helicopter made it's third round, the ranger dropped down and guided us to the highest ground around. After a 10min hike,b the chopper was hovering along the edge of the hill where we had to climb in one by one. We got a 30 second ride to the parking lot where my brother, friend, and sheriffs were waiting to greet us. The End.

Lesson of story: leave 2-3 hours earlier than the expected sunset since it is a canyon, and everyone should pack enough equipment for survival.

And a special thanks to those who did not judge me and offered their assistance. Everyone else should have hearts like yours.

Danny Boyle is all over this. The working title for the movie is "8 3/4 hours."

i guess you could check with the sheriff to see if it's a troll.

During past two weeks, people have been getting lost in the Ventura County backcountry on a regular basis. At least 13 people have gotten lost or stranded and needed to be rescued at night by the Sheriff's Department helicopter crew or the volunteer search and rescue teams.

A second storm developed this past weekend and stranded 3 rock climbers in the Santa Monica Mountains near the Los Angeles County line close to Echo Cliffs. A friend of the group telephoned the Sheriff's Department at 1:00 a.m. and reported the group over due and missing. The Sheriff's helicopter was dispatched and located the climbers stranded in an impassable ravine, lost, wet and cold. The helicopter was able to drop off a crewmember who hiked to the stranded climbers and escorted them back to the helicopter where they were hover loaded and flown back to their vehicle.