Helicopter lifts stuck hiker off peak five miles southeast of Alyeska

A helicopter lifted a stuck hiker off a peak about five miles southeast of Alyeska early on July 28, ending a nearly four-hour overnight rescue, Alaska State Troopers said.

Troopers received the report at 10:26 p.m. on July 27. The hiker had become stuck while trying to summit the peak. The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center was contacted and accepted the mission. Troopers did not identify who operated the helicopter, and did not describe conditions during the extraction.

The hiker was retrieved at 2:21 a.m. and flown to Girdwood Airport. EMS treated him there for minor injuries. Troopers did not release his name. The hiker's own account of the climb has not been made public.

Alaska Air National Guard crews hoisted a stranded hiker off Matanuska Peak in the Chugach Mountains over the Fourth of July weekend at troopers' request, one of four rescues in two days. It is not clear whether Guard crews took part in this latest rescue near Alyeska. Guard officials have said remote rescues often require long flight times, in-flight refueling and night operations. Those demands fall on aircrews responding to stranded hikers in steep terrain.

Mountain and wilderness rescue organizations say hikers should carry appropriate equipment, understand terrain and conditions, and prepare for emergencies. Rescues in steep alpine country are complex and risky.