On January 8, three UCSB students were stuck at the bottom of a 50-foot chute near Inspiration Point after climbing to Cathedral Peak and getting turned around in the fog.
A press release issued by Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Drew Sugars stated that the hikers were able to use their cell phones to call 911, and the Search and Rescue (SAR) Team’s Mountain Rescue Unit was dispatched. The unit used GPS to locate the hikers.
It took five hours for the rescue team to reach the students, and a further one-and-a-half hours to use a rope and harness system to help them get down to safety. S.B. County SAR president Jennifer Bayer said, “As a mountain rescue team, this is what we trained for and can provide to the citizens of our community that no other organization can.”