22 People Rescued in High Sierra

Seizing on a break in the weather Thursday, rescuers reached 22 hikers and climbers stranded in a blizzard in the central Sierra Nevada that also killed two climbers on the face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

“Oh, thank God! Thank God! This is the greatest day of my life!” rejoiced Rita Bargetto-Snider, who was at a rescue command post when she received word that her brother, Paul, along with three others, was found safe.

One unidentified male hiker from Tucson, Ariz., remained missing Thursday night. Rescuers planned to search for him today.

Those located Thursday included a group of four San Francisco Bay Area residents who had set out Oct. 13 on a four-day hike in the backcountry of Sequoia National Park.

Tony Smith, 42, of Scotts Valley; Amy Childers, 40, of Daly City; and Paul and Lula Shank of Redwood City were found about 9:30 a.m. near Sky Blue Lake. The hikers heard a search helicopter and starting jumping up and down and waving.

Their rescue was “all due to their smart way of handling the situation,” said Alexandra Picavet, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service.

“They had an itinerary they had given to family at home, so when Tony’s wife did not get a call Sunday night, she initiated the search-and-rescue effort. Because she knew exactly where they were going, we knew exactly where to search,” Picavet said.

About the same time, a man who went hiking alone in Kings Canyon National Park was rescued. Gabriel Janssen, 34, of Bishop initially tried waiting out the storm in a cave.

“While he was sitting there, another guy walked by and was kind of stuck in the same situation,” Picavet said. “He came into the cave and they decided to wait out the snow together.”

Rangers had been unaware of the second man, Mark Pollock, until they rescued him.

Earlier in the day, four other hikers were rescued just outside Yosemite park.

Jeff Peacock, 45; his father, Tom Peacock, 75; Douglas W. Schneider, 47; and Britt Jefferson, 57, all from Lafayette, Calif., were experienced backpackers who were prepared for bad weather.

“It was boring most of all,” Jeff Peacock said. “We were just sitting in the tents staying warm.”

The group “had food but we were starting to conserve,” he said. “We probably could have lasted another three days.”

Peacock said he planned to take a hot bath and forgo any more wilderness hikes this winter.

Another two hikers, also from Lafayette, were found Thursday evening just outside Sequoia National Park.

Richard and Sandra Smith, 70 and 66, were on an eight-day tour of the park when the storm overtook them, Picavet said. While searching for the Smiths, rescuers also found Nicky Pierce, another trapped hiker.

Also among those rescued were four members of a Santa Cruz County winemaking family who had been missing since Sunday.

Paul Bargetto, 47; his brother-in-law Frank Horath, 45; and their sons, Michael Bargetto, 20; and Dominic Horath, 16, began their hike Oct. 15. They were airlifted to Shaver Lake, where friends and relatives waited.

Two more hikers -- John Bumgarner, 28, and Shana McCarthy, 24, of San Luis Obispo -- and their dog were spotted by a helicopter crew Wednesday night and told to stay in place until rescuers could reach them. They were airlifted out Thursday.

Rescuers also were hard at work on El Capitan, the monolith that rises from Yosemite Valley. Seven people were caught on the face of the mountain by the blizzard, and two died.

The two dead climbers, a man and a woman from Japan, were spotted Tuesday by a helicopter crew, dangling lifeless about two-thirds of the way up the 3,200-foot face of El Capitan.

The bodies were retrieved late Thursday. Rangers battling heavy snowfall and strong winds had rescued a solo climber from the mountain Wednesday.

Two other climbers remained huddled on a ledge overnight on the sheer face of the monolith after rescuers were unable to reach them in the darkness Wednesday night. They were brought to the summit late Thursday. Their names and conditions were unknown, according to a park spokeswoman.

A final pair of climbers relented after initially refusing help and asked for assistance in getting off the wall of El Capitan late Thursday.

Times staff writer Zeke Minaya contributed to this story.