Hiker gets hit by falling tree and plunges down ravine in Colorado, rescuers say
A falling tree hit a hiker and sent him plunging down a 20-foot ravine in Colorado, rescuers said.
The tree, brittle from pine beetle kill, couldn’t withstand the high winds and toppled unexpectedly Saturday, May 25, Grand County Search and Rescue said on Facebook.
It happened at approximately 2:30 p.m. about 1.4 miles into the Monarch Lake Trailhead, rescuers said.
The 20-year-old man was critically injured, but “extreme weather” made a helicopter rescue impossible, officials said. Instead, rescuers pulled him from the ravine, stabilized him and carried him back to the trailhead, where he was taken to specialty care about a 100-mile drive southeast to Denver.
Photos show the team carrying the hiker on a stretcher outfitted for backcountry rescues.
“Weather in the Rockies is often unpredictable this time of year and can quickly change without warning,” officials said. “It is important that when recreating you are aware of potential dangers, and in this case the unexpected outcomes from the pine beetle kill in the area combined with high winds, which unfortunately resulted in this accident.”
Mountain pine beetles infest all types of pine trees in Colorado, according to the Colorado State Forest Service.
This story was originally published May 29, 2024 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Hiker gets hit by falling tree and plunges down ravine in Colorado, rescuers say."
