A Colorado rescue team sprang into action under nightfall on November 15 to save a hiker who fell approximately 200 feet downslope on North Sheep Mountain.

According to a report from Chaffee County Search and Rescue North, their volunteer-powered team was called into the field at about 5:36 p.m. last Saturday to assist the hiker who took the big fall, sustaining significant injuries in the process.

The hiker had been assisting other hikers of a three-person group when a slip occurred on steep terrain, sending the hiker falling roughly 200 feet through loose rock. The result of the big fall was multiple head, back, and extremity injuries, with the hiker ultimately coming to rest head-down on a dangerously steep slope.

The hikers that the rescue subject was with were able to provide immediate aid, also affixing a belt to a tree to act as a sort of anchor that could prevent further descent. The fallen hiker was also given additional clothing amid cold temperatures.

After rescue teams were contacted, it was determined that weather conditions would make a helicopter rescue impossible. The steep terrain was under darkness and temperature approached freezing. Instead, a boots on the ground approach was utilized, with a hasty team hiking up to the rescue subject, distributing helmets and safety gear to other hikers and providing warming supplies. The injured hiker was then packaged for transport.

The terrain, however, further complicated the rescue effort, as heading downslope with the hiker with the gear the hasty team had would be too risky. Instead of making an immediate descent, the team moved the subject out of the gully at a horizontal angle, reaching a safer location at which evacuation would be more possible.

At that point, another rescue team arrived at the scene, bringing about 800 feet of rope that would ultimately be used to lower the injured hiker down roughly 1,600 feet of class three and class four terrain over the course of six hours. Other hikers that were in the party with the injured hiker were also “short-roped” through the dangerous terrain “one careful step at a time.”

According to rescuers, rockfall was a constant risk throughout the mission.

Eventually, crews were able to reach the Colorado Trail with the injured hiker, with the hiker then affixed to a wheeled litter and transported to a nearby trailhead. The hiker was then taken from the scene via ambulance for further medical assessment and care.

Rescue personnel ultimately made it out of the field by 4:41 a.m. – more than 11 hours after the call for help was received.

Chaffee County Search and Rescue North reminded the public that Colorado’s mountains can be “unforgiving” following the mission, noting that the group of hikers had several of the ‘10 essentials‘ that improved their odds of survival and were also able to call for help and effectively communicate their position, factors that were said to have “significantly improved the outcome.”

One key takeaway from this rescue is that hikers should always be able to communicate where an accident takes place, even under the cover of darkness. This means being highly familiar with geographical features and the terrain when entering the backcountry, to the point where you still know where you’re at if a day hike slips into night. If calling for help, be prepared to accurately describe your location to rescuers the best you can. In steep and rugged terrain, even having GPS coordinates can still mean a lengthy search – one reason why being able to recognize landmarks that can help to further narrow down a location is key.

The exact location of ‘North Sheep Mountain’ was not further described by the search and rescue team, though there is a Sheep Mountain that’s located near the Colorado Trail that’s found southwest of Salida.

Are you interested in supporting the backcountry SAR community in Colorado? Here are some ways to do it:

• Enjoy Colorado safely by educating yourself and friends on backcountry safety and being prepared   
• Support a local BSAR team as a donor, or perhaps as a member. You can read about joining a team here
• Donate to the Colorado Search and Rescue Association, which provides services and resources to all the teams
• Buy a CORSAR card on Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s license page. CORSAR cards are not insurance, and there is no charge for backcountry rescue in Colorado whether you have the card or not. But it’s a good way to chip in on the equipment and training expenses of nonprofit teams.

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