Two backcountry skiers were evacuated from a Colorado mountain by helicopter overnight Sunday because of “extreme cold injuries,” according to rescue officials.
One of the skiers was hospitalized in critical condition, officials said.
Pitkin County emergency responders received a medical SOS from the Goodwin Greene hut at about 9:40 p.m. Sunday, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office and Mountain Rescue Aspen.
The hut is one of seven in the Alfred Braun Hut System, a community-supported nonprofit that claims to be the oldest network of backcountry ski huts in Colorado. The Goodwin Greene hut is nestled between Aspen and Crested Butte in the Elk Mountains.
Two skiers in a seven-person group were unable to make it to the hut on Sunday and were injured by the extreme cold, Pitkin County officials stated in the release.
Temperatures at the nearby Aspen/Pitkin County Airport hit 1 degree below zero at 9:53 p.m. Sunday, which felt closer to 12 degrees below with windchill, according to National Weather Service records.
By the time rescuers were out of the field at 3:45 a.m. Monday, temperatures at the airport had dropped to 9 degrees below zero and a minus 24 windchill, according to the weather service.
Temperatures close to 22 degrees below zero with an unknown windchill were recorded on the mountain at one point during the rescue, according to the sheriff’s office.
Mountain Rescue Aspen officials mobilized a team of snowmobiles to find the skiers and contacted CareFlight of the Rockies for medical assistance, rescue officials said.
The helicopter pilot took three tries to land on the mountain because of the weather, including strong winds, but eventually found the two hypothermic skiers on a snowy ridge, according to the news release. Both skiers were taken by helicopter to Aspen Valley Health. One was in critical condition, officials said.
“Do not underestimate the changing mountain conditions, have adequate clothing for the projected weather conditions and be open to rescheduling or turning around to avoid getting caught in unfavorable weather,” Pitkin County officials stated in the release.
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