Injured hiker rescued from 14er in 'lucky' mission

A 44-year-old climber was lifted from El Diente Peak on Sunday in what rescuers call an operation that was blessed with good fortune.  

"Skill was paramount in this mission," Dolores County Search and Rescue stated in a Facebook post, "but luck also played a huge part."

First, the climber fell near the top of the 14,165-foot mountain and suffered a leg fracture. He was fortunate to land on a ledge "that saved him," per Dolores County SAR. 

His backpack was another matter. The gear continued tumbling down the mountainside hundreds of feet below the climber. 

Here's where the second bit of luck came in - the climber kept his inReach (a brand of rescue beacon) and his cell phone on himself. Dolores County SAR praised the man for not storing the units on his backpack. 

The climber was able to establish contact with 9-1-1 dispatchers using both devices. 

That saved rescuers important time, and perhaps the climber's life. 

"Just fifteen minutes of delay would have caused a mission cancellation," Dolores SAR stated, "due to weather."

Pressed for time as a storm approached, a single rescuer "packaged" the climber into a litter which was attached by rope or cable to a helicopter from Mesa Verde Helitack. 

The "short haul" technique brought the injured climber quickly to the landing zone at a trailhead 5.5 miles away from the mountain.

The climber was placed in a waiting ambulance "just before a deluge of mountain rain hit," Dolores County SAR described. 

"Only minutes after the ambulance left the area, the road down was washed out due to flooding."

Despite the weather, the copter crew returned to the peak and lifted the rescuer by short haul as well. 

"His return flight on the line was in a torrential downpour," per Dolores County SAR.

It was the Helitack's last day in the area for some time. The crew and aircraft flew out the next day to an assignment in California. 

The mission, which began at 10 a.m., was completed by 2:30 p.m.

Other contributors to the effort included the Rico Volunteer Fire Department, West Fork Volunteer Fire Department, San Miguel Search and Rescue, SW Memorial Ambulance, Dolores County Sheriff's Office, and the Colorado Search and Rescue Association - CSAR and Durango Interagency.

El Diente is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness section of the San Juan Mountains near the town of Rico.