Multiple search and rescue teams responded to the report of a hiker who needed help in precarious terrain on Sunday, July 12, with the mission ultimately ending more than 13 hours after the initial call for activation was received.

According to a report from Custer County Search and Rescue, the hiker was located just below Broken Hand Pass with a knee injury, with the initial call coming in at about 4:45 p.m. While details about exactly where the rescue subject was weren’t released, this is a pass that’s generally climbed along the standard routes to the summits of Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle. It’s steep, rocky, and shadowed, with a tendency of holding ice and snow past when snowpack is, in general, long gone. Hiking either or both of these peaks means a long day in the mountains, with Broken Hand Pass serving as a key section of the distance that can cause problems on tired and strained legs.

With the rescue mission underway, Flight For Life Colorado assisted in flying four technical team members and 125 pounds of gear closer to the subject with 15 ground members headed to the area on foot. From the upper parking area at the top of South Colony Road, reaching the summit of Broken Hand Pass means about five miles of walking with some scrambling once the pass is hit.

While rescue personnel were working their way to the rescue subject, the rescue subject and her friends were able to maintain communication with the operations team via a cell phone. It was noted by search and rescue that the rescue subject had extensive fourteener climbing experience and that while she had planned for a day trip, she had also prepared for a worst-case scenario with warmer clothing layers, food, water, a phone, a battery bank, a headlamp, a helmet, an emergency bivy, and a Garmin inReach (take notes fellow hikers – this is exactly what you should do).

Images from the rescue show that the subject was ultimately brought off the mountain via a wheeled litter, also showing rescuers operating in the more technical rocky section of the pass. The mission concluded at 6 a.m. the following morning with all personnel and the rescue subject out of the field.

It can’t be stressed enough how much this rescue scenario exemplifies the importance of bringing gear for emergency scenarios when embarking on a hike. Most of the time, that gear will just be added weight and a means of peace of mind, but when it’s needed, it can be life-saving. Kudos to this hiker for being so prepared.

Custer County Search and Rescue was also assisted by Chaffee County Search and Rescue in the mission.

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