1 Climber Dead, 2 Others Injured in Avalanche at Rocky Mountain National Park

Photo: John Greim/LightRocket/getty

A climber is dead after a rockfall and avalanche occurred at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado on Sunday.

The NPS said emergency responders requested help from a Colorado National Guard helicopter to extricate one of the male climbers who suffered severe injuries. The climber was later flown to UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland.

“Rocky Mountain Rescue assisted with the helicopter hoist operations,” the NPS said in a statement. “The man was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows, transferred to Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance and then flown to Medical Center of the Rockies.”

The female climber also survived and was treated for minor injuries.

Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park

Search teams found the body of the second male climber shortly after 5 p.m. and used a RECCO radar device to pinpoint his location.

“Rescue teams worked in terrain above 11,500 feet and at times experienced winter-like weather conditions throughout the day,” NPS officials said.

“Several agencies assisted Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue team with this operation including Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Flight for Life, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Front Range Rescue Dogs, Colorado National Guard, and Med Evac,” they continued.

The NPS said they would not release the names or hometowns of the climbers until family members were notified of the incident.

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According to theColorado Avalanche Information Center, 17 people in the U.S. have died in avalanches during the 2021 to 2022 season so far.

At least 37 others died during the 2020 to 2021 season, the group said.

source: people.com