The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department reported the rescue of two climbers stranded on Tahquitz. The climbers, newlyweds from the San Diego area, used a cell phone to reach authorities about 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20.
According to Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU) volunteer Lee Arnson, the climbers called for help when their headlamps failed and they could not find their way from the Angels Fright climbing route. They had ascended to the Friction Route on the back side of Tahquitz. Arnson noted the two had not begun their climb until around 1 p.m. and that the wife was a first-time climber.
According to Arnson, another pair of climbers, also on Tahquitz, encountered the San Diegans and led them to Lunch Rock where RMRU and deputies found them at 11:30 p.m. and safely hiked them out. The climbers were uninjured and required no medical attention.