Search and Rescue

Search and rescue teams believe the mission to save the stricken hikers resulted in the highest helicopter medevac in state history

A medevac crew in southern Colorado completed a helicopter rescue on the 14,055-foot mountain, which was recently reopened to hikers

Search and rescue teams recently conducted 13 helicopter rescues over a seven-day span. A SAR leader blames the uptick on a detour to a vital hiking route.

Rescuers issue a warning to hikers across the country as fast-flowing streams and cascades surge with spring snowmelt

Two hikers are lucky to be alive after one of them plummeted down a cliff along Northern California’a famed trekking route

Lots of visitors find themselves off track, whether they're chasing Instagrammable moments too far, facing unpredictable weather and variable terrain, or simply lacking preparation. Here’s why this seems to be happening—and how to trek safely when you go.

A rescue story from Southern Utah has a happy ending—thanks to a discarded bag filled with survival gear

After a terrible crash, BASE jumper Alenka Mali spent hours dangling from a cliff. Here is her story in her own words.

It’s been a busy start to 2025 for search and rescue crews in the popular Nevada park. They recently saved another fallen climber.

When a hunting dog became stranded, the Mesa County Search and Rescue team embarked on an intense 13-hour mission to free her

Backcountry rescuers are praising an innovative kids’ tracking device for helping them locate a missing father and son

After SAR rescued two heavily-laden, inexperienced hikers from the lower 48’s highest peak, they had some strong advice to share with anyone thinking of following in their footsteps

Claire Nelson was more than a mile off the trail when she fell 30 feet in Joshua Tree National Park

Like humans, dogs have accidents in the backcountry. So what do you do if your canine hiking companion is in distress?

Some of the AT’s most famous towns and their residents bore the worst of Helene’s damage. Hikers who were on trail discuss the moment that the storm hit—and locals contemplate the long recovery ahead.

A hiker suffered severe burns after falling into a hydrothermal feature this week. The park responded with a reminder that its hot springs are its deadliest feature.

After a jump off Yavapai Point ended in tragedy, we asked an expert to help us understand what happened

On Tuesday, a horse slid off the side of a popular backcountry trail, falling 30 feet into a ravine

Last week a trio of climbers from Malaysia became stranded on Denali in Alaska. Guides and rescuers recount how they spent multiple days trying to save them.

I report on a lot of SAR calls and this Mazama debacle is one of the weirdest rescue stories I’ve ever heard

The data doesn’t lie: middle-aged men are most likely to misjudge their abilities and get in over their heads

The two backcountry climbers never reached the splitboards and skis they stashed to descend the California fourteener

A skier was swept over 1,000 feet down a couloir on Quandary Peak when another party set off a slide above him, violating backcountry protocols

Most backcountry lightning education—including what’s taught by major outdoor organizations—is antiquated. Here’s your overdue expert update.

We dug into the numbers with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center to find out

The crash unfortunately took three lives, including an American IFMGA guide

AspectAvy, a new app developed by a guide, promises to help skiers make more conservative decisions in the backcountry. Some avalanche experts aren’t so sure.

According to a report by the Los Angeles Times and subsequent news sources, California ski accidents are up nearly 50 percent over the past two years

A student from the University of Vermont suffered fatal traumatic injuries after sliding 600 feet down the famed Northeast ski face. Two others suffered serious injuries and required rescue.

A recent SAR communique reams out an incautious adventurer who climbed up the peak amid dangerous conditions and then called for emergency lifesaving

Rescue operations are underway after skiers triggered an avalanche on KT-22 terrain Wednesday morning

A hiker rescued in California last week is the latest to find themselves pinned under a big rock. But they’re far from the first—or the unluckiest—to have a bad encounter with a boulder.

A search dog named Pocket helps bring families hope and closure. She was recently honored by the American Kennel Club for her work.

Search and rescue officials are urging adventurers to carry appropriate gear after an unprepared hiker nearly died on one of the state’s high mountains

The ordeal is a reminder to value your own situational awareness over what Big Tech may tell you about a trail

Deep in the Canadian wilderness, two professional climbers in dire straits triggered a rescue with their cell phone

The climber is in critical condition following gear-ripping fall on pitch four of The Great White Wall

“It is amazing to be above ground again,” the grateful U.S. researcher told reporters from a stretcher on Tuesday, September 12

A 37-hour rescue mission ended on Tuesday after officials in Indonesia located six of the missing seven people. The search continues for an Indonesian sailor who disappeared.

During a particularly difficult mission, the search and rescue volunteer found resolve in her team members

The death is the third snow-related fatality that local search and rescue has responded to over the past three weeks

A group of young hikers used Apple’s Emergency SOS system to trigger a rescue

Kaitlyn Brann, 34, died after being struck on a popular route on May 12

Officials say evidence suggests the men were caught by a flash flood. This is the second double tragedy in the famous slot canyon this year.

Matthew Read, 19, spent two days stranded in the woods

Indian mountaineer Anaug Maloo was stranded in a crevasse for three days, until a team of rescuers overcame improbable odds to save him

Lifesavers in Colorado recently rescued multiple hikers who had lost their footwear on the same slushy trail

A proposed law would require hikers who ignored warning signs or walked on closed trails to reimburse the state for SAR

SAR crews in Oregon discovered the trapped motorist after he used his ingenuity to send an SOS signal

Rescue crews in SoCal are already warning hikers to skip the snowy San Jacinto Mountains

After the enormous earthquake in February, one group of Turkish mountaineers headed east, to help in any way they could

This wild story out of coastal Oregon has it all

Hikers in New Hampshire can already be charged for lifesaving, and a proposed law would punish those who refuse to pay. Editor Adam Roy thinks it’s a terrible and dangerous policy.

Why people keep running into trouble on the highest peak in Los Angeles County

Two stranded hikers survived a night in the wilderness after illicit explosives grounded a helicopter

A new state law boost the budget for lifesaving crews and grants legal protections to volunteer rescuers

A storm rolled into Riverside County on October 22, stranding the duo high on a famed rock climbing route

Meet one of the winners of the 2021 Defender Service Awards—and the rescue vehicle that helps them get the work done

Two days after Nelson went missing on Manaslu, details about the ski mountaineer’s accident are emerging

A mare named Oriana is lucky to be alive after a terrifying tumble down a ravine in Oregon

A group of researchers from University of California at Irvine investigated the link between SAR incidents, park visitation, and Twitter posts. Their conclusions could inform how hikers portray their own adventures—and view those of others—online.

How people get lost (and found) in the outdoors

When Cody Sheehy was six years old, he disappeared into the Oregon wilderness. More than three decades later, he insists the experience gave him an invaluable life lesson.

He was an environmentalist versed in the dangers of our warming world, an expert trail runner, and eminently capable of moving far and fast outside. The heat killed him all the same.

The accident highlights an industry at a crossroads and raises a crucial question: As safety schools boom, who is responsible for making sure the students come home?

While climbing Alaska’s Eagle Peak, Joe Yelverton’s life changed in a single moment. His account of the experience won our inaugural survival-stories essay contest.

What it feels like to rescue a surfer from the massive winter waves that crash into the Hawaiian island

A fatal avalanche near Hoosier Pass, Colorado, is a reminder that dangerous slides can occur on gentle terrain

The ‘Row of Life’ drifted for nearly 4,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean until, one day, it washed ashore

Hikers rescue stranded dog on Pico de Orizaba, Mikaela Shiffrin ties World Cup wins record, New Zealand MP bikes to childbirth

California rescue aided by drone, Mikaela Shiffrin chases ski record, and turkey trot Strava art

Climber charged for Denali SOS call, woman is youngest to run 100 marathons, Bearsun takes Manhattan

Another reminder that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet—especially when your life’s at stake

If you get lost or injured in the woods these days, aid might come from above—in the form of small-propeller drones that are revolutionizing SAR and saving lives

The remarkable survival story of Claire Nelson, whose solo hike in the desert turned into a desperate fight for her life

What it takes to be a part of the rescue team on one of the world’s most dangerous mountains