Photos: Epic Helicopter Rescues for Stranded New York Hikers

Multiple injuries on New York mountains kept rope rescue teams busy last week.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) is responsible for everything from confiscating illegally caught fish to searching for missing persons, and on Saturday, July 22nd, they worked in tandem with the New York State Police (NYSP) to rescue multiple stranded hikers in the Adirondacks.

Hiker Helicopter Rescues in New York

"Dispatch received calls for a hiker with a knee injury on Basin Mountain and a hiker with an ankle injury on Mount Colden", the NYS DEC shared in a recent press release. Unable to hike out under their own power, both hikers required aerial rescues. That's where the state police came in.

SEE ALSO: NYC Hiker’s Urgent Rescue in the Hudson Valley

NYSP Aviation was on hand for both extractions, which ended up being executed in two very different ways. While the injured Mount Colden hiker was able to make their way to a helicopter which had landed, the injured Basin Mountain hiker needed to be hoisted in an aerial rescue that looked like something out of a Mission: Impossible movie (below).

Hoist Operation in the Adirondack Mountains

"NYSP Pilot Oropallo flew with Rangers Lewis and O'Connor to Basin Mountain... The responders performed a successful hoist operation and flew the patient to the hospital", reported the NYS DEC. Seemingly in good spirits after the hoist operation, both Ranger Lewis and the hiker had time for a photo in the helicopter (below).

This was far from the only recent NYS DEC rescue. Earlier this month in the Hudson Valley, rangers performed an urgent rescue when a New York City hiker was incapacitated after a 10-foot-fall in Greene County, NY. Check out another impressive helicopter rescue below.