A hiker making an attempt to summit a 13,000-foot ridge within the Colorado Rockies final Wednesday was carrying only a cotton hoodie when a extreme snowstorm got here out of nowhere. With no meals, water, cellphone reception, or further clothes, the stranded hiker, whose identify was not disclosed, was rescued seven hours later “in a fetal place coated in snow,” based on the Chaffee County Search and Rescue North’s Fb web page.
After discovering the near-frozen hiker at 2am, it took one other three hours to heat the hiker up earlier than making an attempt to assist them down. Through the use of ropes together with human help, the hiker lastly made the two-hour descent and was greeted on the backside by an ambulance.
From NBC Information:
The “unprepared” hiker had no technique to heat themselves, based on the assertion.
“With darkness approaching and hypothermia setting within the particular person determined, reasonably than take the identical means down, the perfect plan was to bail down an avalanche chute to attempt to get to a street,” officers stated.
The hiker had a cellphone, however authorities couldn’t get hold of GPS info from it after studying of the state of affairs about 7 p.m., based on the assertion. A 25-person group was despatched out, understanding solely that the hiker was in an avalanche chute east of Cottonwood Lake.
The group noticed what seemed to be footprints in round 6 to eight inches of snow and adopted them till they came across what they thought was “an uncommon trying rock” at 2 a.m., based on the assertion.
“Upon additional investigation it was decided it was not a rock however the topic sitting upright in a fetal place coated in snow,” officers stated.
The Chaffee County Search and Rescue North reminds hikers to at all times pack the “10 Necessities” earlier than a severe hike it doesn’t matter what the climate is: navigation (map and gps), solar safety, insulation (as in gloves, hat, jacket, and many others.), flashlight, first support equipment, matches or lighter, restore equipment/instruments, meals, and water.
