Hiker recounts rescue from mountain in Pahrump

Two 18-year-old hikers’ recent ordeal included spending the night on Shadow Mountain on the far west edge of Pahrump and being lifted to safety by helicopter.

The trail that Nic Couturr and Sebastian Fronk, both of Pahrump, were on collapsed behind them four hours into their hike.

The pair endured temperatures that fell into the 20s and had limited food supply while they were stuck on the mountain Sunday night. Neither was injured.

Nye County Search and Rescue crews along with a Metropolitan Police Department helicopter located Couturr and Fronk, with Metro using a helicopter for the rescue. The Nye County Sheriff’s Office said it had tried twice to rescue the hikers by using two trails the previous night.

Search and rescue teams were dispatched Sunday, after it was reported that the trail had collapsed beneath the men, effectively trapping them.

Couturr said last week: “While we were going up the right side of the mountain, we were trying to make our way to the left, so we could get to a cave. While we were going, and all of a sudden, all of the rocks started falling behind us. We were freaked out because we were stuck where we were.”

Couturr discovered he had cellphone service.

“The first person I called was my mom and asked her what I should do,” he said. “She then called my father and they ended up coming off of work and calling Nye County Search and Rescue because I was trying to save the battery in my phone as much as I could. I did let my mom know that we were going hiking, because it’s always good to let somebody know where you are in case you can’t contact anyone.”

The pair had some gear for the night, but their supplies were low.

“We were properly dressed, wearing pants and thin hoodies, and we planned on going down later in the day, but things didn’t work out so well, and it was pretty cold up there,” Couturr said.

The two started a fire to keep warm and took refuge in a small cave, he said.

The next morning, “We were overjoyed when we spotted the helicopter because we were exhausted, hungry and tired at that moment,” Couturr said. “We were weak and all we wanted was just to get down, get home and eat something.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes