In the afternoon of July 26, 2024, AVSAR received a call in regards to an injured hiker who had fallen on the descent from Ellingwood Point. The hiker, who knew he was off route, was no longer able to continue on due to his injury and the terrain he was in.
AVSAR immediately began the process of deploying teams, but with severe afternoon storms covering the blanca massif, a helicopter insertion would not be possible until the storms cleared. Teams inserted into the field by AVSAR’s specialty 4×4 team, up Lake Como Rd and then began on foot to reach the climber. Teams got within three hundred vertical feet of the climber, but darkness was rapidly approaching and it was deemed too unsafe to continue on with the nearly vertical terrain. Teams bedded down for the night near the climbers location. Incident Command remained in contact with the injured climber to stay updated on his status.
It was planned that at first light, teams would continue on and would begin a technical extraction of the climber. Unfortunately, the climber was highly unprepared for overnight conditions and was out of water/food, but was in stable condition. AVSAR’s incident command team began the process to request the Colorado National Guard to hoist the climber off the mountain. It was planned that at 0600 the national guard would hoist the climber out and bring him down to the lake como helipad for a tail to tail transfer with REACH29 out of Salida and get the climber to medical care. If the hoist was unsuccessful, AVSAR’s team members were prepared to climb to the injured climbers location and begin a technical extraction. The climber was hoisted out of the field and on his way to medical care by 0645 on 7/27. The climber was later released from the hospital, and on the path to recovering from his injuries. All teams were out of the field later that afternoon.
We cannot thank our assets enough for the life saving help they provided:
Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office
REACH Air Medical Services
Eagle Air Med
Colorado National Guard – Hoist Rescue Team
Colorado Search and Rescue Association – CSAR