The Sept. 11 rescue at Courtright Reservoir required a helicopter hoist and help from a Fresno County sheriff’s rescue technician.
FRESNO COUNTY, CA — A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew rescued an injured rock climber from a roughly 700-foot granite cliff at Courtright Reservoir after the climber fell on Power Dome and could not get to safety, authorities said.
The rescue unfolded Sept. 11 in the southwestern Sierra Nevada, where steep terrain made an air extraction necessary. CHP Coastal Division Air Operations received the request for help at about 12:45 p.m. and sent Helicopter-70, known as H-70, from its base at Paso Robles Airport. A Fresno County Sheriff’s Office helicopter rescue technician joined the operation before the aircraft approached the injured climber.
The climber had fallen while on Power Dome, a large granite formation near Courtright Reservoir east of Shaver Lake. Authorities said the person needed extraction and medical care, but they did not publicly identify the climber or provide details about the injuries. News reports described the climber as a man who was unable to climb out because of his condition.
H-70 responded with a two-person CHP flight crew. Working with the sheriff’s rescue technician, the crew used the helicopter’s hoist system to reach the climber on the rock face, secure the patient and lift the person away from the cliff. The aircraft then carried the climber to an ambulance waiting nearby for continued medical care.
Video released after the rescue showed the helicopter operating close to the steep granite face as the hoist extraction was carried out. The maneuver allowed rescuers to reach a location where landing the aircraft was not possible and where moving the injured climber by ground would have been difficult.
Several agencies were involved in the response. In addition to the California Highway Patrol and Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, reports identified CAL FIRE, the Shaver Lake Volunteer Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service as participants in the rescue effort. CHP thanked the agencies that helped with the operation.
The CHP Office of Air Operations uses helicopters for search-and-rescue missions, emergency medical responses and other public-safety work across California. The agency says its statewide aviation program operates from eight air units and includes pilots, flight officers and paramedics. CHP helicopters can be used in remote areas where terrain or distance makes a conventional rescue difficult.
CHP officials have said cooperation with local rescue specialists is an important part of helicopter operations. In this case, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office supplied the helicopter rescue technician who worked with the CHP crew during the hoist. The aircraft’s flight officer also serves as a paramedic and can operate the hoist during rescue missions.
Courtright Reservoir sits in the Sierra National Forest amid exposed granite domes and high-elevation terrain. Power Dome is one of the prominent granite formations in the area and is used by rock climbers. The same steep landscape that draws climbers can make access difficult when someone is injured on the rock face.
Authorities had not publicly released the climber’s name or a detailed medical update as of Monday’s reports. The confirmed public account ends with the climber being transferred to an ambulance after the successful helicopter extraction.
Author note: Last updated September 15, 2026.