Climber rescued from South Sister

Published 9:32 am Tuesday, April 13, 2021

A climber on the north side of South Sister was rescued Monday after getting stranded on a small ledge along steep terrain.

Stephen Lamb, 49, of Beaverton, called 911 just before 9 a.m. to report he was climbing alone on South Sister and was unable to continue up or down due to snow and ice that surrounded him, according to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.

Three volunteers from the sheriff’s office search and rescue team were flown to the South Sister summit and six more volunteers arrived at the Devil’s Lake Trailhead on snowmobiles.

Rescuers at the summit climbed about 600 feet down a ridge off the northwest side of the mountain and then traveled about 500 feet east directly above Lamb.

At about 3:19 p.m., a search and rescue volunteer rappelled to Lamb and kept him from falling.

About an hour later, Lamb was hoisted aboard an Oregon National Guard HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and flown to the Sisters Airport.

Lamb was uninjured, but exhausted from the long climb and from holding onto a ledge for more than seven hours, according to the sheriff’s office.