The Summit County Rescue Group had a busy weekend assisting a cliffed-out hiker in a 16-hour mission on one of Colorado’s 14ers and, shortly after, helping a paraglider who crashed.

Summit County Rescue Group president Ben Butler said that the rescues Saturday, Oct. 5, and Sunday, Oct. 6, demonstrated strong interagency collaboration between the all-volunteer rescue group and other first responders.

Helicopters assisted with both rescues, and the Summit County’s Sheriff Office’s System-wide Mental Assessment Response Team, or SMART, offered its expertise to the hiker who had found himself stuck in a precarious position on the mountainside, Butler said.

The first call of the weekend came in just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday evening, when a hiker used his cell phone to report that he was cliffed out on Quandary Peak, a 14,000-foot mountain, Butler said. Someone gets cliffed-out when they get into a spot so steep they don’t feel comfortable climbing up or down.

As the sun set, a Flight for Life helicopter flew teams of rescuers to the top of the mountain who were able to make voice contact with the hiker, Butler said. But rescuers “couldn’t negotiate this one area” to get to the hiker, he said.

“All of our teams had to spend the night at 14,000 feet,” Butler said. “He was on the west ridge, very close to the summit of Quandary — but in much more complicated terrain than we felt comfortable moving in at night.”

Throughout the night, a mental health clinician with the sheriff’s SMART program worked with the cliffed out hiker to talk “through this pretty stressful situation,” Butler said. He called the SMART program a “huge benefit during this call” and noted it was not the first time the mental health co-responder team has assisted on a search and rescue mission.

Summit County Sheriff’s Office public affairs sergeant Mike Schilling put it this way: “SMART services at the intersection of public safety and mental health, and on Saturday night, that intersection happened to be on the side of a mountain on a cold evening.”

The SMART program responds with a behavioral therapist alongside a law enforcement officer to deescalate situations and then follows up with a case manager who can help connect an individual with the appropriate community resources, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

“Without going into the specifics of what that person was going through, a backcountry rescue can be a traumatic situation for anyone,” Schilling said. “This is very much public safety, and SMART is here to help.”

By morning, the rescue group had coordinated to have a Colorado Army National Guard helicopter from the Buckley Space Force Base extricate the hiker, Butler said. Around 7 a.m. Sunday morning, the Black Hawk helicopter hoisted the man to safety, he said.

Butler noted that the standard route up the east ridge of Quandary Peak is often considered the “easiest” way to the summit but that even this route can prove dangerous if someone finds themselves off trail, encounters harsh conditions or isn’t prepared. The routes along the west ridge and coming up from McCullough Gulch, though, can be significantly more complex and dangerous, he said.

“They’re more difficult and not as well traveled. There is more complicated route finding, more complicated terrain, so being prepared for that objective is really important, trying to gather as much information as you can.”

Anyone planning to summit a mountain, like one of Colorado’s 14ers, should plan their route carefully and ensure that they have the prerequisite skills to complete the objective, Butler said. Gathering information about the route before heading out, whether from guide books, the internet or word of mouth, can help a hiker assess whether an objective is right for them and how to avoid trouble along the way, he said. 

Carrying the 10 essentials is also important, as having the right gear will come in handy if awaiting rescue overnight. Butler also noted that because cell service is not always available in the backcountry, having a satellite communication device like a Garmin InReach is also a good idea.

“There’s complex route finding up on that west ridge,” Butler said. “If you’re not going exactly where you need to you can get yourself cliffed out fairly easily.”

The Summit County Rescue Group received its second call of the weekend around just before 11 a.m. Sunday, only about an hour after rescuers cleared the field from the Quandary Peak call, Butler said. This time the call was for a paraglider who crashed after launching from Peak 6, near the Breckenridge Ski Resort, and sustained a potentially serious back injury, he said.

The paraglider had crashed fairly soon after launching, so a Flight for Life helicopter dropped rescue group members and Red, White & Blue Fire Protection District paramedics near the ridgeline to hike down to the injured party, Butler said. Paramedics assessed the paraglider’s injuries and rescue group members helped carry the individual back to the helicopter, which flew them to the hospital, he said.

“This was another instance where the first responder community came together,” Butler said.

As the autumn leaves drop, the leaf peeping season in Summit County is on its way out, but thanks to a bout of warm, dry weather, the hiking season is not, Butler said. As winter grows nearer, he said those headed out into the backcountry should remember that rifle hunting season will be getting underway in the coming weeks.

“We have beautiful weather right now that folks are getting out and hiking,” Butler said. “Leaf peeping season is just about done, but there are folks enjoying these warmer days. Hopefully soon we start to see a change in the weather.”