Tuesday, Sep 8, 2009
On the afternoon of September 1st, a 53-year-old man from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, took a 25-foot tumbling fall in the “Trough” area of Longs Peak. The “Trough” is a long, steep gully with loose rocks. The man and his son, who is in his mid 20s, had climbed to the summit of Longs Peak and were descending when the incident occurred. The man suffered numerous injuries, including a leg injury and numerous bruises and abrasions. A few bystanders tried calling for assistance around 5:30 p.m. on their cell phones, but the calls were dropped after limited information was given to park dispatch. The dispatcher was only able to hear that a hiker was in distress near the “Trough.” The two men had camped on Monday night and were planning to camp again on Tuesday night at a backcountry campsite at the Boulderfield. Not knowing whether rangers had been contacted, the son hiked down to their camping gear and hiked back up, bringing a sleeping bag, first aid kit, food and water to his father. He then proceeded to hike down to the Longs Peak trailhead. Two rangers, responding to the earlier calls, met the son on the trail at 8:30 p.m. roughly two miles from the trailhead. The two rangers proceeded to the Boulderfield and spent the night there. At first light Wednesday morning, they hiked through the “Ledges” to the injured man, reaching him at 6:00 a.m. Two teams of rangers and a paramedic from the Estes Park Medical Center left the Longs Peak trailhead at 3:00 a.m. and at 5:00 a.m. to support the two rangers on scene. With assistance from the initial two rangers, the man was able to move slowly to the Keyhole area. He was flown from the Boulderfield (elevation around 12,760 feet) at 10:30 a.m. by St. Anthony’s Lifeguard One to Medical Center of the Rockies. Eighteen park staff were involved in this incident.
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