You are here

UPDATED: Aerial Operation Plucks Military Personnel Off Longs Peak In Rocky Mountain National Park

Share

It took several flights, but park rangers were able to safely get all members of a climbing group down from the summit of Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park/NPS

Editor's note: This updates with personnel safely evacuated from Longs Peak.

By mid-afternoon Friday a band of military personnel that ran into trouble while training on Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado was safely airlifted off the top of the mountain by rangers.

Park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said that the group of 10 climbers late Thursday night radioed for assistance on Kiener’s Route on Longs Peak.

"The group consists of a variety of military personnel affiliated with Fort Carson. This group was involved in a climbing training," she said in a release earlier Friday. "A few members reported having some degree of distress and were having difficulty continuing up the route. The group was not planning to overnight in the area. The group continues to self-rescue by assisting each other to climb to the summit of Longs Peak.

"Park rangers are planning evacuation efforts from the (14,259-foot) summit of Longs Peak via helicopter, weather and conditions permitting," wrote Ms. Patterson. "Rangers are also planning to assist the group to the summit, if needed. There are 43 park personnel affiliated with this incident. Helicopter operations have taken place within the last hour to help with reconnaissance efforts."

Shortly after 3 p.m. all the climbers had been safely flown down to the floor of the park, she said in an update. None required medical attention, the spokeswoman added.

The climbers found themselves in a somewhat precarious position before Rocky Mountain National Park rangers came to their aid/NPS

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.