Concerning 911 Text Leads to Overnight Rescue in Colorado's High Country

Last week, rescuers in Colorado saved a hiker after she’d become trapped in the backcountry, sending a concerning and to-the-point 911 text that read: “Please help me.”

The text came after dark on Thursday, October 29, according to Crested Butte Search & Rescue (CBSAR), which detailed the life-saving mission in a social media post.

Their subject, a 37-year-old solo hiker, was on the Four Pass Loop between Aspen and Crested Butte. The route, CBSAR noted, spans 27 miles in the Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness and covers approximately 8,000 feet of elevation gain over four mountain passes. It surely didn’t help that snow had begun to pile up in Colorado’s high country. 

CBSAR said that the hiker had informed a family member that her phone battery was at 10% before sending the 911 text. Soon after the emergency text, communication was lost. And with minimal traditional cell coverage in the area, that left CBSAR with one coordinate to track the hiker down. It indicated that she was possibly on the north side of Frigid Air Pass, 

“At this point, we had no idea what was wrong with the subject or whether she was still moving. Was she injured, experiencing a medical emergency, or simply unable to continue due to the conditions?” the post reads. “With temperatures dropping into the teens, significant snowfall from the previous weekend, and an approximately five-mile hike to reach her last known location, CBSAR had some difficult decisions to make.”

CBSAR notified a local air medical service, CareFlight, which sent CareFlight 3 out at night in search of the hiker and, if possible, to land and extract her. Aware that landing a helicopter could prove difficult, CBSAR also sent out a ground team of five, who began “the long, cold overnight hike toward Frigid Air Pass,” the post reads.

CareFlight 3 spotted the hiker at about 11 p.m. She was moving, according to the post, and trying to get over Frigid Air Pass but appeared to be struggling in deep snow. The helicopter couldn’t find a safe landing zone.

The first two members of the ground team reached the top of Frigid Air Pass at about 3:10 a.m. They could see the hiker below, but waited for the whole team to arrive. The post said that the “steep terrain, deep snow, and darkness presented legitimate avalanche concerns.”

“This was not an easy decision,” the post reads. “However, in search and rescue, there is often a difficult balance between the urgency of reaching someone in need and ensuring rescuers do not become additional victims themselves.”

After the group of five convened, two CBSAR members headed downhill and reached the hiker at about 6 a.m. The hiker’s condition was worse than initially thought. She couldn’t walk and had serious cold-related injuries.

A helicopter hoist rescue proved to be the best option. CBSAR coordinated with the Colorado Search and Rescue Association, which helped dispatch a National Guard UH-60. At around 9:15 a.m., the Black Hawk hoisted the hiker aboard with a rescue technician. She was eventually transferred to UCHealth Burn and Frostbite Center in Aurora for care.

The National Guard returned to the scene and made two additional helicopter pickups, flying all five rescuers to the West Maroon trailhead.

CBSAR noted that, normally, it doesn’t provide as detailed of rescue recaps. 

But it said that this one was “exceptionally challenging” and served as a “great example” of coordination between multiple agencies.

CBSAR expressed its gratitude for “CareFlight 3, CSAR’s State SAR Coordinators, the Colorado Army National Guard, Lifeguard 2, our dispatch partners, and everyone who helped make this rescue possible.” 

It also said it was “especially proud” of the five CBSAR rescuers “who answered the call and spent the entire night in some very challenging conditions to reach this patient.”

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