On Sunday afternoon, May 21, park rangers were notified via a satellite communication device that a 37-year-old male climber from Fort Collins, Colorado, had been injured in an approximate 30-foot roped fall in a mixed route on Taylor Peak.

Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance assisted Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue team members with air reconnaissance to determine the man’s exact location. Because of the location and injuries of the climber, the park requested assistance from a Colorado National Guard helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base to extricate the man via a hoist operation, using a winch operated cable. Rocky Mountain Rescue assisted with the helicopter hoist operations. This occurred at approximately 8:30 p.m. Sunday night. The man was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows and transferred to a ground ambulance to Estes Park Health.