You are here

Rocky Mountain National Park Rangers Rescue Backcountry Skier Who Tumbled 900 Feet

Share

Rangers prepare to load an injured backcountry skier onto an ambulance at the Bear Lake Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park. NPS photo.

A skier who survived a roughly 900-foot tumble in the backcountry of Rocky Mountain National Park was in a hospital Thursday after rangers spent a long afternoon rescuing him.

The 55-year-old Chicago man was skiing with two friends near the east face of Flattop Mountain on "The Drift" when he fell between noon and 1 p.m. Wednesday, according to park officials. A cellphone call alerted the park's dispatchers to the plight, and rangers were sent out to the site at roughly 10,600 feet to rescue the man.

The rangers, battling extreme cold, "high winds, and white-out conditions," reached the man around 3:00 p.m., a park release said. After stabilizing him, the rangers headed back down the slope and snowpacked trail with the man in a sled-type litter at 4:50 p.m.

They reached the Bear Lake trailhead about 6:30 p.m., where a waiting ambulance took the unidentified man to the Estes Park Medical Center. He then was flown to the Medical Center of the Rockies, according to park officials.

There was no immediate word on the extent of his injuries.

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.