Saw a helicopter coming down from the Whitney Portal yesterday - apparently someone broke something on Lone Pine Peak... Anyone know any details?

I soloed the N Ridge on Sunday and passed 4 climbers from Cal Tech at the 1st notch. They were well-prepared (ropes, racks, helmets) and seemed pretty confident. I looked back down the route many times between 11am and 2pm, but didn't see them again. I was back on the Meysan trail when the heli flew in, and I called 911 to report on their position. Dispatch told me that they'd already been sighted, but couldn't give me any details on what happened or the climbers' condition. Glad to hear it was just a broken something...

The injured climber is a friend of mine. A hold broke and he fell 60+ ft. Fortunately, he suffered only a small greenstick fracture in one arm. He's an experienced alpine climber; it was just a freak accident. A big thank you to Inyo SAR.