Mountain Rescue Teams Endure ‘Terrifying’ 11-Hour Mission in the Dark to Reach Hiker After 200-Foot Fall

A hiker who plunged about 200 feet while climbing a rugged Colorado peak was pulled to safety thanks to quick thinking from his companions and an all-night effort by first responders.

The accident happened Saturday, Nov. 15, on North Sheep Mountain — a 12,427-foot summit in Chaffee County — where three hikers were ascending a route with no established trail, Chaffee County Search and Rescue North (CCSAR-N) said in a news release. One of the hikers slipped on sharp, unstable rock and tumbled roughly 200 feet down steep terrain.

Officials said the man suffered multiple injuries to his head, back and limbs. He came to rest head-down on a precarious slope. With darkness approaching and the injured hiker at risk of sliding farther, one of his companions improvised an anchor using his belt, securing the victim to a fallen tree until rescuers arrived, according to Outside magazine.

“He tied his friend to a fallen tree to keep him from falling further down the mountain,” rescuer Shane Bumgartner told the outlet, noting that while search and rescue teams sometimes use makeshift solutions in the backcountry, it’s rare to see fellow hikers act so effectively under pressure.

The group had already climbed about 10,000 feet on the mountain, which requires scrambling on slopes that can approach 45 degrees. North Sheep Mountain is infrequently climbed even by locals, the magazine reported.

Just after sunset, at 5:36 p.m., CCSAR-N received a 911 call from the hikers, who were able to share their location. A helicopter evacuation was ruled out because of near-freezing temperatures, fading light and the extreme steepness of the terrain. Instead, rescuers climbed to the group on foot.

Once on scene, the team provided helmets, safety gear and warming supplies, stabilized the injured hiker and moved him out of a gully to a safer spot. He was then placed on a litter for extraction.

Over the next six hours, rescuers executed a series of multi-pitch technical lowers, descending roughly 1,600 feet through difficult Class 3 and Class 4 terrain. At the same time, another rescuer guided the two uninjured hikers down by short-roping — essentially tethering them and coaching each careful step.

Rockfall was a constant threat throughout the operation. According to Outside, loose boulders repeatedly broke free from above, forcing rescuers to warn those below in the darkness. “There was rock falling all night long from the team trying to get him down,” Bumgartner said. “Huge rocks flying all around us — people would scream ‘rock!’ and in the dark you’d hear these boulders slam into trees next to us.”

After reaching the Colorado Trail, the rescuers attached a wheel to the litter to speed the final stretch. They arrived at the trailhead around 4:41 a.m., where the hiker was transferred to EMS for additional medical care.

In a final note, the rescue team credited the hikers for carrying essential gear that helped them survive the ordeal. They also warned that while Colorado’s peaks are stunning, they can be unforgiving — a message reinforced by Bumgartner’s description of the mission: “It was an intimidating environment to operate in. It was terrifying for us.”