A Colorado hiker was rescued from a harmful scenario on a mountain west of Denver this weekend. The state’s Alpine Rescue group was notified Friday night of a misplaced man on Mt. Bierstadt, the group reported. After setting out on Friday morning to climb the 14,065-foot peak, located about 60 miles west of Denver within the Colorado Entrance Vary, the person left his father with directions to name 911 if he didn’t hear again by 8 p.m.
Members of the state’s alpine search-and-rescue (SAR) group searched the mountain for a number of hours. Round midnight, the group noticed a flashing gentle a mile away and at last situated the hiker round 1 a.m. above a small cliff. He was unable to maneuver as a result of his “sneakers had frozen stable,” the group later wrote in a social media publish.
In order that they warmed up his toes, then belayed him to the bottom beneath the cliff. By 3 a.m., Alpine Rescue, Colorado’s devoted mountain SAR group, was capable of assist the misplaced mountaineer off the mountain by means of a mixture of climbing and snowboarding.
Winter Climbing Security
Whereas it’s unclear precisely how the hiker ended up in want of assist, he made two selections that helped guarantee a swift and profitable rescue, based on Alpine Rescue. First, he suggested somebody about his schedule and cutoff time earlier than leaving for the mountain. This allowed first responders to start out trying to find him as quickly because it was clear he wanted assist.
“With out figuring out to name 911, our topics father might not have notified the group in time,” Alpine Rescue wrote.
Secondly, the misplaced hiker had a light-weight supply he may use to draw search groups. It’s “unlikely” he may have signaled the group with out that gentle, the rescuers added. Lastly, Alpine Rescue suggested hikers to all the time pack further layers in case of moist circumstances.
“Do not forget that winter recreation in Colorado has heightened penalties,” Alpine Rescue stated. “Be ready for vastly completely different circumstances and know what to deliver and easy methods to use it.”
Nonetheless, Colorado isn’t the one state the place unprepared hikers can discover themselves in hassle. The same incident occurred in New York State’s Adirondack Mountains in 2021 when three hikers in sneakers discovered themselves caught in snowy circumstances.
