Crews rescue injured mountain biker from steep Lookout Mountain terrain
Search and rescue teams responded Friday morning to the Lake Whatcom side of Lookout Mountain following reports of an injured mountain biker, according to South Whatcom Fire Authority Chief Mitch Nolze.
South Whatcom Fire and Rescue (SWFA) responded to a traumatic injury call around 8:47 a.m. Oct. 10 and readied for a technical rescue.
The mountain biker required a technical rescue due to the steep terrain in the area, and SWFA contacted aid units from the city of Bellingham and resources from Bellingham Mountain Rescue, according to Nolze.
“We have a bunch of resources here assisting with a stable patient involved in a recreation accident, and we are currently working on extracting that patient,” Nolze told The Herald in an interview Friday morning.
Rescue teams reached the injured person around 10:15 a.m. and began moving him down the mountain at 11:15 a.m. using a rope system.
“They’re having to set up rope systems and then kind of leapfrog him down,” Nolze said. “So they will set up one, take down the previous one, go on ahead and set up multiple. So it just takes a lot of time to do that safely and that is the primary concern.”
The injured person was pulled out on a stretcher attached to a bike wheel by a team of rescuers, and made it into an ambulance around 2 p.m. He was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center for treatment and has since been released.
Authorities released no details regarding the extent of the mountain biker’s injuries.
Editor’s Note (Oct. 13): This article has been revised to accurately explain how the patient was transported and correctly identify the medical center to which he was taken.
This story was originally published October 11, 2025 at 11:17 AM.
.jpg)