Fallen hiker breaks back, spends night stuck on frigid Colorado mountain. See rescue
A solo hiker fell from a steep mountain ridge in Colorado and had to wait overnight for rescue — with a broken back, rescuers said.
The hiker sent out an SOS from a satellite emergency communication device as he’d fallen about 30 feet from the ridge and was “injured, alone and unable to walk” and stranded on technical terrain near 13,000 feet of elevation, Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said in an Oct. 12 post on Facebook.
He fell on Oct. 5 from the Ellingwood Ridge route of La Plata Peak, which is considered a highly challenging route, according to AllTrails.com.
Photos show the steep, rocky and treacherous terrain where the hiker fell.
Sheriff’s office paramedic Don Smith “identified early in the incident that this was a critical situation in technical terrain with limited access for rescue,” the agency said in the post. Rescuers requested help from the Canon City Helitack helicopter and Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.
There was nowhere to land a helicopter, so Smith and a rescuer from Chaffee County Search and Rescue dropped in near the hiker as the helicopter hovered above the ground, officials said.
Smith immediately provided emergency medical care to the hiker and packaged him up to be hauled back to the trail on a rope attached to the belly of the helicopter, officials said.
With nightfall near, rescue officials determined a helicopter rescue wouldn’t be possible until the next morning. The Colorado Search and Rescue Board requested a Blackhawk helicopter from the High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site (HAATS) to rescue the hiker and other rescuers just after sunrise, officials said.
Flight for Life Colorado dropped off cold weather survival gear and other supplies “to make staying overnight at 13,000 feet (of) elevation in temperatures that were well below freezing more survivable and comfortable for the patient and rescuers,” officials said.
Then just after daybreak on Oct. 6,the team arrived and a rescuer descended from the helicopter to pick up the hiker, photos show. The hiker was flown to the Buena Vista Airport and transferred to a medical service helicopter that flew him to a hospital on the front range of the Rocky Mountains where he was treated for a broken back and other minor injuries, officials said.
Several people praised the rescuers’ teamwork during the risky mission.
“What a rescue mission,” someone posted on Facebook. “These people train for this type of situation. Glad everyone was safe.”
“Preparedness with the Sat Emergency Com device absolutely saved this person!” another said. “Kudos to all the Emergency Responders. You should all be extremely proud!”
Chaffee County is about a 105-mile drive west from Colorado Springs.
