Rescuers took a hiker to the Queen’s Medical Center in extremely critical condition following a 300-foot fall Tuesday at the Koolau Summit Trail.
The woman, 30, lost her footing and fell while hiking with two companions near an unsanctioned hiking area known as "The Notches," which is on the way to Konahuanui, said Capt. James Todd, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman. The three began their hike at the Nuuanu Pali Lookout and were on their way to Tantalus, Todd sad.
Fire and rescue personnel responded to the call at about 10:13 a.m.
Todd said it took several hours for firefighters to find the woman on the Honolulu side of the ridge via helicopter, rappel down to her, place her into a basket and airlift her to a landing in the parking lot of the St. Stephen’s Diocesan Center on the Kailua side of Pali Highway at about 1:15 p.m.
The rescuers went back to the ridge to scoop up her two companions at about 3 p.m.
The woman fell in a steep area with cliffs sloping from 45 to 90 degrees, and the rescuers themselves were placed in a dangerous situation as they attempted to aid the hikers, Todd said.
"We can’t even train for something like this — it’s too dangerous," he said. "It’s almost like mountain climbing. And once you get into it, you can’t turn back."
Some hiking websites refer to Konahuanui as the two highest peaks along the Koolau Summit Trail. The book "Place Names of Hawaii" says the peaks are 3,105 and 3,150 feet high.
Todd said it was fortunate for the hikers that weather conditions were calm enough in the notoriously windy and narrow area for the helicopter to conduct the mission. Otherwise, rescuers would have had to hike into the area, and the two other hikers likely would have had to stay in place at least a day, he said.
The incident serves as a reminder for hikers and extreme sports enthusiasts to think twice before heading into unsanctioned and dangerous areas. Hawaii’s ridge lines are made of volcanic rock, which are much more porous and fragile than the granitelike rock faces on the mainland, Todd said.
In March a man was killed after he fell about 150 feet off a steep section of the Koolau Range in Waimanalo known as "Bear Claw."
