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Man rescued after falling into caldera at Crater Lake

Don't know this guy, but this is the first time I've heard of someone falling into the caldera at Crater Lake. It's also a good cautionary tale...

An Arizona man nearly slid into Crater Lake Saturday afternoon while attempting to retrieve his friend's cell phone, prompting a lengthy rescue by Jackson County Fire District 3 crews.

Kevin Harris, 26, of Glendale, Ariz., was walking along the rim when his friend dropped his cell phone into the caldera. Harris decided to scoot down the snow-covered slope to reclaim the phone.

While climbing down the slope he quickly lost his footing and slid. Somehow he was able to stop his descent, but found the footing too slick to climb back to the rim.

Had he continued to slide he would have dropped off the 700-foot cliff and into the frigid water below.

"That water is close to freezing this time of year," said Jackson County Fire District 3 firefighter Pat Haynes. "He might have lasted a half-hour, probably less if he had gone in."

Crater Lake park rangers managed to throw a rope down to Harris to rescue him until District 3's special operations rescue team arrived.

Full Story: Rescuers save man trapped on Crater Lake ridge (Mail Tribune, February 1, 2009)