Friends of a hiker about 300 feet down a peak near Aspen have created a crowdsourcing page to help pay for his medical bills.
The site, on , seeks to raise $10,000 to help pay for the man’s recovery. the injured hiker as Justin Vassar, 28, of Aspen.
Vassar was descending Capitol Peak, a 14,130-foot mountain, when he fell down a rocky ridge. A Black Hawk helicopter from the High Altitude Training Center in Gypsum transported him to Aspen Valley Hospital, where friends say he is recovering.
The Times reported Vassar suffered a broken arm and lacerations over much of his body.
“Justin is an experienced climber and skier and this was his third trip on Capitol Peak,” his hiking companion, Ted Ehrlich, posted on the site. “He was on the standard route and the fall wasn’t due to poor route-finding or climbing ability. It was just being in the wrong spot at the wrong time.”
Ehrlich said Vassar, who teaches skiing, lacks health insurance “due to his current work situation.”
The site had raised about $2,000 as of Tuesday morning.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jesseapaul
