Mountain Rescue Aspen rescues two skiers below Hero’s Saturday night

A team from Mountain Rescue Aspen (MRA) rescued two skiers who skied out of bounds below the Hero’s Lift on Aspen Mountain Saturday evening. 

The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from MRA after receiving a 911 call at 5:50 p.m. Saturday, March 9 reporting two skiers who had skied out of bounds. They skied into an area known to be hazardous terrain, and the two skiers did not have adequate clothing or equipment for the terrain they were in. 

The rescue team entered the area at 6:30 p.m. with snowmobiles, extra clothing, and headlamps. A second team joined them at 6:45 p.m. with snowmobiles, and at 7:15 p.m. two more rescue teams joined, one with snowmobiles and one with a drone to assist in locating the two skiers.

The MRA members found the two skiers at 7:24 p.m. and outfitted them with warm layers, avalanche beacons, and headlamps. At about 7:30 p.m., the MRA team and the two skiers began a slow and difficult descent. They were forced to ski slowly and carefully with headlamps to see because of the darkness and extreme difficulty of the terrain.

Another MRA rescue team made a trail from Colorado Highway 82 in the North Star Preserve area to meet the first team and the two skiers. At 8:30 p.m., the two skiers and the rescue team made it to the North Star Preserve parking area, where they were met by a Pitkin County sheriff’s deputy.