Injured backcountry skier evacuated by helicopter from peak in Pitkin County
An injured backcountry skier was successfully rescued from Mace Peak, in the Elk Range near Aspen, on Saturday morning.
According to a post from Mountain Rescue Aspen, the Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center received a medical SOS at about 9:45 a.m. on Saturday after one member of a group of four people was injured on Mace Peak.
Fortunately, four members of Mountain Rescue Aspen were already skiing in the area, and arrived on scene as the subject was sending out the SOS. MRA contacted Flight for Life and assembled more teams with tracked ATVs and skiers to help with evacuating the patient.
MRA got the emergency sled from the Tagert hut to evacuate the patient to a landing zone for FFL. The patient was then loaded onto the helicopter and taken to Aspen Valley Health for further care.
All team members were out of the field at 1:10 p.m. There were 16 MRA members involved in this mission.
MRA and the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office reminded backcountry skiers to always be prepared and carry a satellite communication device for emergencies.
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