Climbing
Mountain Rescue Aspen made its second rescue of the season from the high peaks of the Maroon Bells Wilderness early Thursday morning, rescuing four climbers after they got “cliffed out” and had to spend the night on 14,156-foot Maroon Peak.
Two men and two women from the Front Range first called the Mount Crested Butte Police on Wednesday after they became tired and ran out of water, according to a news release Thursday from the Sheriff’s Office. No one was injured.
MRA and the sheriff’s office assembled a team Thursday morning, based on the information they had. A Gypsum-based Army National Guard High Altitude Aviation Training Site helicopter left Aspen-Pitkin County Airport around 7:45 am with two MRA hoist rescue members aboard. A total of 19 MRA members were involved, including a team of four that went to the Maroon Bells parking lot to assist the helicopter in landing.
MRA and the Sheriff’s Office “would like to remind individuals venturing into the backcountry to always be prepared with enough gear and provisions to stay the night and to be aware of proper route choices when descending from Peaks,” the news release stated.
All parties were rescued from the mountain and transported to the parking lot by 8:46 am. MRA, the sheriff’s office, the Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center, the HAATS unit, Careflight of the Rockies and Mount Crested Butte police were all involved in the mission.
