Overview
- A member of a three-person party slipped about 200 feet through loose rock, coming to rest head-down on a steep slope with injuries to the head, back and extremities.
- A companion improvised an anchor by securing the injured hiker to a fallen tree with a belt and provided extra clothing as the group relayed their location to rescuers.
- CCSAR-N teams ascended after the 5:36 p.m. call and prepared the patient for transport in steep, technical terrain that precluded any aerial extraction.
- Rescuers executed multiple multi-pitch lowers totaling roughly 1,600 vertical feet through Class 3 and Class 4 terrain while persistent rockfall endangered crews throughout the night.
- After reaching the Colorado Trail, teams wheeled the litter to the trailhead by 4:41 a.m., where Chaffee County EMS transported the hiker to a hospital; authorities have not released the person’s identity or condition.