Wyoming Rescue Teams Recover Body of Trail Runner from Colorado Peak
Search and rescue personnel from Wyoming’s Teton Range successfully recovered the body of a deceased trail runner from Arikaree Peak in Colorado on Thursday, CBS News reports.
The 31-year-old man from Boulder had been unaccounted for since August 28, when he fell on the steep, loose western face of the mountain.
Initial recovery efforts were conducted by Colorado rescue teams, who made two attempts to retrieve the man’s body shortly after the fall. However, these efforts were halted due to significant safety concerns for their personnel. Following these attempts, Colorado teams reached out to Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR) for assistance early last week.
On Wednesday, a TCSAR crew, along with two Jenny Lake Climbing Rangers from Grand Teton National Park, flew to Granby, Colorado, using TCSAR’s specialized Airbus A-Star helicopter. The following day, with coordination from Grand County Search and Rescue, the helicopter deployed crew members onto the mountain using a long cable.
“Rescue teams can deploy up to 450 feet of line below the helicopter to safely transport live loads… The line length for this recovery was 250 feet,” explained Grand County Search and Rescue Field Director Greg Foley.
This length matched the maximum capacity of the US military’s Blackhawk helicopter that had previously attempted to place rescuers on the mountainside, but was complicated by high winds on that day. The A-Star’s narrower rotor radius allowed for closer proximity to the mountain, making the operation feasible.
“This was a unique rescue for us for many reasons… It was the first time we have been called down to Colorado, and there were many individuals and agencies involved in the rescue effort. This was also a challenging operation both technically and in terms of the heavy nature of the job. We are grateful to have been able to bring this man off the mountain and back to his family,” TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart stated in a social media post.
Dale Atkins of the Alpine Rescue Team, which was also involved in earlier recovery attempts, highlighted the importance of TCSAR’s longline technique.
“Ironically, this technique was something that some Colorado SAR teams used back in the 1980s, but it fell out of practice due to increased regulations. For this recovery on Arikaree Peak, it was wonderful that Grand County could collaborate with TCSAR and Grand Teton NP crews to assist in retrieving this man,” Atkins stated.
