On August 8th, 20204, AVSAR leadership was contacted in regards to a Garmin SOS activation for a hiker that had fallen on the Southwest Approach to Ellingwood Point. It was reported that the party had fallen, and in the fall, had his leg pinned by a large boulder and severely broke his arm.
AVSAR immediately made contact with the fallen climber and began allocating resources. REACH 71/GUARDIAN 1 was requested to fly over the fallen climber’s location and confirm the coordinates that the Garmin device provided. REACH71/GUARDIAN 1 also took videos of the area and sent to AVSAR IC, so they could become familiar with the terrain. AVSAR deployed three highly modifed truck teams with additional team members and technical gear to the Blue Lakes to stand by for a possible technical extraction. Canon Helitack was then requested to insert five STEP qualified team members. The National Guard was also requested for a possible hoist extraction.
The fallen climber was immobile in very steep and loose terrain. Once all five STEP team members were inserted by a Single Skid insertion, it was deemed that a STEP Hover extraction would be too dangerous for both the climber and the rescuers on scene. The National Guard was then activated to execute a hoist extraction of the climber. The five AVSAR team members on scene splinted and addressed the climbers injuries and packaged the climber in the litter to prep for the hoist. The national guard inserted one rescue tech on the scene with the climber and prepared for the hoist. After the climber was hoisted, he was transferred to REACH 71/GUARDIAN 1 to be flown to the front range to address his medical needs. The national guard then returned and extracted all 5 AVSAR team members from the Pioneer Basin.
We cannot thank our responding assets enough for their live saving help:
Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office
Eagle Air Med – REACH 71/GUARDIAN 1
Colorado National Guard – Hoist Rescue Team
Colorado Search and Rescue Association – CSAR
Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control – Cañon Helitack