Hiker With Ankle Injury Rescued From Steep Calif. Cliff

Jan. 08--The Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter crew flew a 23-year-old hiker to safety on Mount Tamalpais Sunday after the man fell down a cliff and broke an ankle, authorities said.

The man was hiking with friends along the Steep Ravine trail and fell down a steep 40-foot cliff, said Senior Capt. Jeremy Pierce with Marin County fire's Throckmorton station.

The man's friends sought help just before 10:20 a.m. at the Pantole Ranger Station, after hiking about a mile hike from where he fell, Pierce said.

Rescue crews "were able to hike down and boulder hop to get down to him," Pierce said.

The man was in a deep ravine surrounded by tall old growth redwoods, he said. They immobilized his ankle and Marin County, Stinson and Southern Marin fire departments as well as Mount Tamalapais State Parks authorities set up a rope system to move the man down to a clearing.

The helicopter crew used a 200-foot line to airlift the man to an ambulance, a crewmember said.

The man's name wasn't available.

Copyright 2012 - The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.