Climber heard calling for help rescued near North Maroon Peak

DENVER (KDVR) — A few hours after a text message was sent to 911, a climber was safely rescued from difficult terrain near North Maroon Peak.

At 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon, the Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center received a 911 text from a climber who said he was “stuck” but not injured.

The GPS location showed the climber was “well off the standard climbing route, heading toward the central couloir of North Maroon Peak,” the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Another person was nearby and heard the climber “calling for help.” The sheriff’s office said they used their Garmin device to alert emergency responders.

Rescue efforts began. At 2:45 p.m., a rescue team from Mountain Rescue Aspen began moving up the trail to the climber, while a helicopter lift from the High Altitude Aviation Training School arrived to assist.

At 4:15 p.m. the rescue helicopter was above the climber and within minutes he was hoisted aloft.

The climber and all members of the rescue team were safely out of the field at 6:05 p.m.

“The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office and Mountain Rescue Aspen want to remind people heading into the backcountry to be aware of their hiking and climbing routes and not to stray from them,” the sheriff’s office said in the release.