Rescued hikers highlight the dangers of traversing Mount Baldy

Nine months after falling hundreds of feet, Manny Vasquez and his cousin Danny Ortiz Gutierrez joined the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputies who rescued them to warn others about the dangers of hiking Mount Baldy.

"If you don't have the training or the right equipment, you will end up like I did," Vasquez said.

Vasquez and Ortiz Gutierrez were hiking the mountain in March when they fell 300 feet. They are one of the 200 rescues San Bernardino County carried out in 2025. 

"I do not remember the first 2-3 hours of us falling," Vasquez said. "Once I came to, I realized we were in trouble."

With no cell signal and his cousin unconscious, Vasquez used his phone's SOS feature to call for help. 

"We got a call in but I wasn't able to hear them," Vasquez said. "They weren't able to hear me but at that point I knew they had my GPS location."

Vasquez and his cousin waited 12 hours until deputies rescued them from the side of the mountain. 

"I wouldn't be alive if he wasn't there," Ortiz Gutierrez said. "If the law enforcement teams hadn't done everything they had done, I wouldn't be here talking to you guys right now."

Since 2017, 23 hikers have died on Mount Baldy, including the three found dead two weeks ago. 

"Our mountain communities can be very unforgiving," said Eric Vetere, commander of the West Valley Search and Rescue. "You're basically placing an ice skating rink at a 45 to 50 degree angle and when you slip and fall, that's what you're sliding on.

Vetere said hikers have seconds to save themselves if they have the proper equipment. Deputies said some of the equipment needed for the alpine conditions of Mount Baldy includes a specialized pair of spiked boots called crampons, a GPS device and a flashlight. 

"If you turn that flashlight on, we will see you miles and miles away," Sgt. John Anderson said.