Saddle Mountain Rescue Needed USCG Helicopter, Several N. Oregon Coast Agencies

Published 12/01/25 at 6:25 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Seaside, Oregon) – Multiple agencies from around the north Oregon coast came together on Saturday to rescue a hiker stranded high on a precarious ridge on Saddle Mountain, resulting in a complex six-and-a-half-hour operation. Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District (CBRFPD) recently posted the entire ordeal and rather dramatic photographs online. (All photos CBRFPD - detail from a larger photo below)

CBRFPD said at approximately 2:00 p.m., Cannon Beach Fire personnel were dispatched to the north Oregon Coast Range's Saddle Mountain, alongside Gearhart Volunteer Fire Department, Hamlet Volunteer Fire Department, and Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue. Reports came in of a hiker unable to descend from the summit.

Crews reached the trailhead parking lot at 2:45 p.m. and began their ascent. By 3:30 p.m., responders located the man about 1.5 miles up the trail, stranded 40 feet above ground on a three-foot-wide knife-edge ridge along the mountain’s south slope.

“The incident commander quickly realized they were dealing with a high-angle rescue and requested the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Astoria and additional fire personnel,” said the agency.

A rescue helicopter arrived at 5:15 p.m. but was forced to abort its mission due to deteriorating visibility and lowering cloud cover, leaving ground crews to execute a rope rescue. The uneven terrain was also a factor. Rescuers then had to try a more manual approach.

Led by Cannon Beach Fire’s Rope Rescue Team, firefighters climbed 250 feet above the victim to secure an anchor point. A rescuer then rappelled down the cliff face, established a secondary anchor, and carefully maneuvered around a rock pinnacle to reach the stranded hiker.

The patient was fitted with a harness and lowered safely to waiting personnel, who provided medical assessment before guiding him back down the trail. He was able to walk on his own.

All crews returned safely to the parking lot by 8:20 p.m. No one else was injured during the rescue mission.

No other details were given on the condition of the man.

“In total, the rescue operation lasted roughly 6.5 hours and required the coordination of 13 Fire and SAR personnel, as well as the USCG,” the agency said. “Incidents like these go to prove our ability to work together as a team to serve our community members in their time of need.”

CBRFPD had a word of advice for other hikers as well.

“We would like to take the time to remind everyone that when going for a hike, please stay on the main trail and remember to bring the 'ten essentials,' “ they said.

[The "Ten Essentials" include things like extra food, map, GPS / compass, etc]

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