Injured climbers rescued after fall from El Diente traverse near Rico

Dolores County Search and Rescue called for Mesa Verde Helitack, a fire response and rescue helicopter team stationed at Mesa Verde National Park. (Courtesy of Dolores County Search and Rescue)

×

Dolores County Search and Rescue called for Mesa Verde Helitack, a fire response and rescue helicopter team stationed at Mesa Verde National Park. (Courtesy of Dolores County Search and Rescue)

Around 4 p.m. Saturday, Dolores County Search and Rescue received a request for help from an injured climber who fell while traversing from El Diente to Mt. Wilson along the San Juan Mountain range near Rico.

Within an hour, the climber, who suffered an arterial bleed in the leg from the fall, and their companion were rescued via helicopter and taken to Southwest Memorial Hospital via ambulance.

“This was (like) clockwork, and it doesn’t always happen that way, but that was great,” said Dolores County Search and Rescue Capt. Keith Keesling.

The climbers’ route involved summiting El Diente, which is one of Colorado’s many 14ers, before descending via the adjacent Mt. Wilson. 14ers.com ranks the difficulty of the traverse across the two mountains a Class 4 out of 5, signifying steep and dangerous terrain with a high risk of serious injury or death in the event of a fall.

The climbers were traversing a “knife ridge” at 13,900 feet, according to Dolores County Search and Rescue Capt. Keith Keesling. (Courtesy of Dolores County Search and Rescue)

×

The climbers were traversing a “knife ridge” at 13,900 feet, according to Dolores County Search and Rescue Capt. Keith Keesling. (Courtesy of Dolores County Search and Rescue)

“The traverse from El Diente to Mount Wilson is very popular,” Keesling said. “It’s a scrambling route. It just has massive risk exposure.”

According to Keesling, while doing the traverse, which is mainly comprised of loose rock, one climber fell and caught himself in some rocks which damaged his leg. The other tried to reach him, also falling in the process, and suffered minor injuries. Search and rescue reached the climber who’d injured his leg in the fall via his cellphone and contacted Mesa Verde Helitack to extract the two men from their position at 13,900 feet in elevation.

After the helicopter safely deposited the two at Kilpacker Trailhead, Dolores County Search and Rescue and the Rico Fire Department took them to Rico where a Southwest Health Ambulance awaited, which then took them to Cortez for treatment.

The operation was made easier by the climbers’ clothing, which was bright and highly visible, Keesling said.

The climbers were taken from the ridge to the Kilpacker Trailhead via helicopter where an ambulance awaited them. One suffered minor injuries while the other suffered an arterial bleed of the leg. (Courtesy of Dolores County Search and Rescue)

×

The climbers were taken from the ridge to the Kilpacker Trailhead via helicopter where an ambulance awaited them. One suffered minor injuries while the other suffered an arterial bleed of the leg. (Courtesy of Dolores County Search and Rescue)

“The injured was wearing a bright red sweatshirt, and that’s actually really important. The trend that we see nowadays is everybody’s wearing these earth-tone colors and you can’t find them,” Keesling said.

He advised climbers to don bright clothing and get satellite cell service in the event of emergencies like this one.

“They did everything right on that one,” Keesling said.

avanderveen@the-journal.com