On June 19, a pair of hikers in the southern Tenmile Range found themselves stranded on the west ridge of Quandary Peak, with the mountain’s rough terrain offering them no escape either further up or down the mountain. 

It’s a predicament that Ben Butler, a mission coordinator with the Summit County Rescue Group, said has become increasingly common in recent years, as Quandary’s advanced west ridge route has grown in popularity. Last year, a father and son were stuck on the same ridge overnight after finding themselves in a similar cliffed-out position. 

“This is a pretty common area for us to help people — on the west ridge of Quandary, which is a lot more technical than the standard east ridge route,” Butler said. “Within the last three to five years we’ve seen a greater number of folks selecting that route and requesting help.” 

On June 19, help came in the form of 16 members of the Summit County Rescue Group, including multiple groups on foot — via both the east and west ridge routes — and a team of two in a Flight for Life helicopter, which dropped rescuers and gear closer to the stranded hikers. The mission began just after 1 p.m. and lasted until late in the evening. 

“We asked the folks to just hunker down where they were because they were in a relatively secure and stable position,” Butler said, noting that rescuers made contact with the hikers around 6 to 6:30 p.m. “We had all folks out of the field at about 10 o’clock.”

Butler said that the size of the rescue mission was “pretty typical,” though Flight for Life helicopters are not always available for rescuers to use. He also explained that sending teams by both foot and air is a common strategy. 

“We were fortunate that that Flight for Life was available and we had appropriate weather for them to fly because that did cut off quite a bit of hiking time for that team,” Butler said. “It doesn’t always work out that way … so we do try to have multiple plans of ingress to help folks out. We don’t want to put all of our eggs in one basket, and by sending people up the west ridge and up the east ridge, we have a better shot at getting to the folks in a timely manner.”

The west ridge route is one of the most frequent areas that Summit County Rescue Group receives calls for help from, and the rescue group itself is one of Colorado’s busiest, with 2025 ranking as its busiest year on record. 

“We are one of the busier teams in the state of Colorado, and we can run anywhere from about 190 calls to 220 calls per year in Summit County,” Butler said. “Quandary and the southern end of Summit County is definitely one of the busier areas for us, with maybe between 10% and 15% of our total call volume taking place either Quandary, McCullough Gulch, the Blue Lakes area, somewhere within that southern part of Summit County … As far as west ridge calls, this has become a more common call type for us, where folks choose to go up the west ridge route rather than the more straightforward east ridge route.” 

These calls come in for a variety of reasons. 

“Sometimes it’s a lack of gear preparation, sometimes it’s weather moving in, sometimes it’s just exhaustion, where folks can no longer continue on that west ridge route and call in for help,” he said. 

Butler said that those considering hiking up Quandary should follow best hiking practices, including choosing trails wisely, following weather reports and researching trail maps beforehand. 

“Do your research on the route, download that information to your phone. Cell phone service can be spotty up there, so making sure that you have a really good idea of where you’re going on the west ridge route is important, but also being prepared for a more technically demanding route than the east ridge of Quandary,” Butler said. “And then just being sure that you’re acclimated to the elevation, that you’re ready for any incoming weather.”