Less than five months into 2025, the Summit County Rescue Group has received 75 calls for help, according to Mission Coordinator Ben Butler. If the trend continues, Butler said the group could have one of its busiest years on record.

“2021 was our busiest year on record, at over 200 calls,” Butler said. “We’ve kind of leveled off between about 180 to 190 for our call volume, but I think this year is shaping up to be another fairly busy year for us.”

The rescue group has not even entered its busiest time of year, which Butler said is from June through August. That does not mean the group is not busy during the winter, but Butler said the call volume from January to March is around 60% of what it is from June to August.

The increased calls in the summer come from the increase in visitors recreating on public lands in Summit County, Butler said.

Right now, the rescue group is seeing a common late-spring trend in its calls — postholing, or people sinking into the snow past the knees, to the point where it becomes difficult to move.

Butler said recreationists should think about what time of day they start their adventures, the forecasted temperatures and whether or not they have the proper gear.

“It is still winter out there, at and above treeline, despite what it may feel like in the valley bottoms right now,” Butler said.

Sunny conditions warm snow throughout the day and make it easier to posthole. Butler said the group received some postholing calls after Summit had warm weather in late March and early April, but cooler temperatures between then and now have helped bring down postholing frequency.

“We had some storms roll through,” Butler said. “That snowpack firmed up a little bit more, but with recent warmer days, and maybe a lack of a freeze occurring at night, we are starting to see some more folks who are experiencing some difficulty with postholing.”

Warmer weather and melting snow also mean increased river flows, Butler said. Although the group has not received any swift-water calls yet, Butler said it will soon start getting calls for help from people swept up in fast-moving water.

“(A river) may look like it’s a shallow stream and not moving that quickly, but even just being a few feet deep, it can take somebody off their feet and bring them down the river a little bit,” Butler said.

Any time someone recreates outdoors, Butler said they should prepare with the 10 essentials, which can be found on SCRC.org and include things like navigation tools, food, water, weather protection and more. 

He added that recreationists should have a plan for where they will go and tell a friend staying behind about that plan. If the recreationist is overdue to return, then someone will know where they were.