Aspen Mountain Rescue locate, evacuate out-of-bounds skiers on Ajax Mountain
DENVER (KDVR) — Two skiers made it home safely on Saturday thanks to Mountain Rescue Aspen after the duo skied out of bounds below the Hero’s Lift on Ajax Mountain.
According to the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, the regional emergency dispatch center received a 911 call reporting the two skiers were out of bounds at about 5:50 p.m. on Saturday at the Aspen Snowmass Ski Resort.
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Neither skier had adequate clothing or equipment for the hazardous terrain they found themselves on, and sunset was at about 6 p.m.
The sheriff’s office requested aid from Mountain Rescue Aspen, and a team entered the field at approximately 6:30 p.m. with snowmobiles, extra clothing and headlamps.
A second team entered the field approximately 15 minutes later, and two more teams entered the field at about 7:15 p.m. One of those last two teams went with snowmobiles, the second launched drones to locate the skiers.
At 7:24 p.m., Mountain Rescue Aspen team members found the skiers. After outfitting the skiers with warm layers, avalanche beacons and headlamps, the rescue team began a “slow and difficult descent with the two skiers.”
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As the group descended the mountain, a second rescue team made a trail from Highway 82 in the area of the North Star Preserve to meet the group and get them to safety.
At 8:30 p.m., the two skiers and the rescue team members safely made it to the North Star Preserve parking area. A Pitkin County deputy transported the skiers safely to Aspen.
The sheriff’s office reminds all skiers and snowboarders to obey all closures and ski boundary signs.
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