A hiker was rescued Saturday afternoon from the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness after falling hundreds of feet from a mountain trail, according to search and rescue officials.
The Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center in western Colorado was first alerted to the injured hiker at 2:17 p.m. Saturday, according to a from Mountain Rescue Aspen.
Search and rescue officials said the hiker, who has not been publicly identified, fell roughly 200 feet from Buckskin Pass.
That pass is a popular out-and-back hiking route spanning 9.3 miles with nearly 3,000 feet of elevation gain and is rated “hard” on a scale of easy to strenuous, . The trail can be extended to include Snowmass Lake, which increases the total distance to 17.5 miles and the total elevation gain to 5,049 feet, .
Recent reviews left by hikers on the website said that slippery, unpacked snow in higher elevations makes the trail unsafe for inexperienced hikers.
Mountain Rescue Aspen crews found the fallen hiker roughly 3.5 miles into the trail just after 3:45 p.m., according to the agency’s news release.
“Mountain Rescue Aspen conducted a medical assessment, stabilized injuries, and began helping the hiker back down to the trailhead,” officials stated in the release.
Once at the bottom of the trail, crews handed the hiker over to paramedics, who took the hiker to the hospital, according to Mountain Rescue Aspen. All rescue crews were out of the field by 5:45 p.m., according to the agency.
Search and rescue officials did not specify what caused the hiker to fall.
Climbers and hikers should be prepared for potential injuries in technical terrain, dress appropriately for changing mountain conditions, bring technical gear appropriate for the route and carry a two-way satellite communication device when traveling in remote areas, according to the release.
