Mt Washington (OR) Helicopter Rescue by Oregon Coast Guard 7/22/23

7/22/23 I summited Mt Washington with some climbing partners. On the descent, a large rock was dislodged from above. It came bouncing down a chute, then struck me in the leg. This broke multiple bones in the foot and gave me a large laceration to my leg. Blood was pouring out of the wound, but we were able to administer first aid and get the bleeding stopped by our lead climber. We had cell service, so SAR was initiated, and we hit sos beacon on our in reach. One member of the party had a ham radio, so he maintained contact with SAR. We were in a bad location in the middle of a rockfall section, so we made the decision to set up a rap station to lower me down to a flat ledge where I could get more comfortable as we waited for SAR. Because of the difficulty of the terrain, the decision was made to send a Coast Guard helicopter. I waited a few hours, and 3 of my climbing partners remained with me. They checked on me, checked my vitals, and kept me in good spirits. Eventually, we heard a helicopter in the distance, and it came into view. I felt a large sense of relief, but then the fear of the rescue began to set in. The helicopter circled the mountain, accessing the conditions and terrain of the mountain. The winds had picked up at this point and were going to make rescue more challenging. After the helicopter had made a few trips, it started leaving. It flew way into the distance. I thought that it would not be able to rescue me and was leaving. The realization that I may be on the mountain for a while set in. It then appeared to dump fuel and started back for us. The heli got into position and lowered down a person. He then made his way across the slope to me and fastened a rescue strap to me. We were then hoisted into the air. Slowly spinning as we made our ascent up into the copter. It was a surreal moment, and I was fortunate enough to catch the rescue on video. Thank you to all of my climbing partners who worked to keep me safe and get me off the mountain. Thank you to the courageous Coast Guard unit based out of Astoria, OR. Thank you to all who coordinated the search and rescue. Thank you to everyone who has wished me well in my recovery and my amazing girlfriend