A woefully “unprepared” hiker had to be rescued from a Colorado blizzard while trying to climb a 13,000ft ridge wearing nothing warmer than a hoodie – with rescuers initially mistaking them for snow-covered rocks.
The Chaffee County Search and Rescue North received a report of a hiker in distress north of Princeton Mountain as a severe snowstorm moved in early Saturday.
The hikers were “unprepared” and “out of water, without food, wearing only cotton hoodies and no way to keep warm,” the agency said.
“With darkness approaching and hypothermia in the individual decided, instead of taking the same path down the best plan is to save the avalanche chute to try to reach the road,” the rescuer reported.
Although the hiker had a phone, the rescue crew couldn’t get GPS coordinates — and the hiker only knew “they were in an avalanche chute east of Cottonwood Lake.”
About 25 rescuers were sent into the howling blizzard to locate the stranded hikers, eventually finding footprints in about 8 inches of new snow in the gully.
More than two dozen crew members with North Chaffee County Search and Rescue on Saturday rescued a stranded hiker wearing only hooded sweatshirts. North Chaffee County Search and Rescue The rescue agency got a call after hikers found themselves stranded by a severe snowstorm. North Chaffee County Search and Rescue
“The team continued to follow the footprints until they found an unusual-looking rock at about 2 a.m.,” the agency reported.
“Upon further investigation, it was determined it was not a rock but a subject sitting upright in a fetal position covered in snow.”
The hiker was found to be alive “but very hypothermic.”
The hiker was attempting to climb a 13,000-foot ridge near Mount Princeton in Colorado when the weather turned. Chaffee County Search and Rescue North The climber was found sitting in a fetal position covered in snow in a ditch. Chaffee County Search and Rescue North
The search team spent the next three hours warming up the walkers, before beginning the “long, steep, difficult removal” in the gully.
Around 5am, ropes were used to lower climbers one section at a time. More than an hour later, hikers told rescuers they felt they could help the rescue by walking.
The pedestrian then walked with the crew and reached the ambulance at 7am
There is no information on the condition of the pedestrian after the rescue.
Officials are reminding people who are thinking about going outdoors to always bring essentials with them and to check the weather before hiking.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
