Injured skier rescued from South Sister
A Portland man was injured in a climb of South Sister on Saturday afternoon, prompting a successful air and ground rescue effort, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said.
Dispatchers with 911 received word around 2:24 p.m. from a climbing companion that Nick Economou, 32, had suffered a non-life-threatening injury and needed assistance descending the peak, said Deputy Aaron Myers, assistant search and rescue coordinator.
Economou was reported to be about 8,250 feet elevation, roughly 2,000 feet below the summit of the 10,358-foot peak, Myers said.
Eight Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue volunteers responded to assist. AirLink flew four to an area as close as possible to the injured skier, while four others hiked from the Devil’s Lake Trailhead toward Economou’s location.
The volunteers reached Economou around 3:20 p.m., stabilized his injury and took him on a rescue sled about a half-mile to where AirLink was standing by. He was flown to St. Charles Bend, where a house supervisor said he was in fair condition late Saturday night.
“Skiing South Sister is inherently dangerous,” Myers said in a news release, “but Economou did several things right to help mitigate the problems he encountered.”
Economou was familiar with the area, prepared for the conditions and was traveling with other skiers who were able to call 911 for help.
“Those considering recreating in the Cascade Mountains at this time of year should be prepared for anything from bare dirt to deep snow, as well as extreme weather pattern swings,” Myers said.
