Sick hiker rescued on West Maroon Pass
On Monday night, a sick hiker was rescued from the base of Belleview Mountain near West Maroon Pass, according to a midnight PitkinAlert. The hiker was a 44-year-old from Minnesota with a severe headache and difficulty breathing.
At approximately 9:35 p.m., the Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center and the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office were notified by the International Rescue Coordination Center (IRCC) of a Garmin InReach SOS alert notification at the base of Belleview Mountain near West Maroon Pass in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area. This emergency message reported that a hiker camping in that area was experiencing severe shortness of breath and was in and out of consciousness.
A short time after receiving the SOS alert message, a rescue leader with Mountain Rescue Aspen (MRA) was informed of the need for a search and rescue mission. At that time, with assistance from the IRCC, MRA established direct contact with a companion traveling with this sick hiker via the InReach device.
Shortly after 10 p.m., a helicopter from CareFlight of the Rockies was requested for this rescue. At 10:18 PM, a CareFlight helicopter took off en route to the sick climber’s location. Between 10:25 p.m. and 11:10 p.m., two MRA rescue teams also left Aspen to provide ground assistance for this rescue, with the first team entering the field at 11 p.m. At approximately 11:15 p.m. the CareFlight helicopter landed in the area of West Maroon Pass. The flight crew located the sick hiker a short time later and began a medical assessment, according to a press release from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.
Just after midnight, the sick hiker was flown by CareFlight to Montrose Regional Health in Montrose, CO. Upon being notified that the CareFlight helicopter was airborne, all Mountain Rescue Aspen rescuers made their way back out of the field and returned to Aspen. By 1:15 a.m., all rescue personnel had returned to Aspen and this search and rescue incident was closed. At this time, the condition of the rescued hiker is unknown.
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