Busiest 5 groups scaling higher mountain of calls
C olorado’s 61 all-volunteer, nonprofit searchand-rescue teams are the first line of defense protecting the state’s surging population of outdoor enthusiasts. And those volunteers have never been busier.
Across the state’s high country, rescue teams are seeing more calls for help as a surge of adventurers find that the mountains — especially along the Front Range — can be unforgiving even if they’re easy to get to.
“Our total calls have been steadily increasing,” said Jeff Sparhawk of Boulder’s Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, the state’s busiest search team.
The past year has been huge for search-and-rescue successes, with stories of miraculous survival buoyed by broad rescue efforts. There were the ill-prepared teens yanked from
Mount of the Holy Cross and the two skiers who survived 52 hours in the snow outside Monarch ski area. The past year has been rife with stories of unplanned wanderings and serious injuries in the elements that could have turned out much worse if not for the diligent work of unpaid searchers.
While these search teams never charge for rescues, they are increasingly urging adventurers to shoulder more responsibility for their well-being by being prepared and carrying the so-called “10 Essentials.”
The 10 are: navigation tools, whether a map and compass or GPS or both; sun protection; insulation for the coldest possible weather; illumination; first-aid; fire-making tools; repair kit and multitool; extra food; extra water (usually 2 liters is enough for an extra day stuck in the woods); and emergency shelter.
Howard Paul, with the Alpine Rescue Team, said his group’s recent unscientific survey of hikers and climbers at the trailheads accessing Mount Bierstadt and Grays and Torreys peaks show that 90 percent were not carrying those safety essentials as they attempted to summit the fourteeners. Even with the lack of preparedness, Colorado rescuers in recent years have seen their missions become much shorter, thanks to the proliferation of GPS-enabled mobile phones.
But smartphones can’t help people who are in over their head.
“A growing number of the backcountry travelers we assist are in terrain more difficult than their skills or experience can handle,” said Paul, noting how too much reliance on phones has atrophied navigation skills and teams are often called to simply guide lost hikers. “Some hikers today rely on a cellphone, where, in the past, preparation, experience and knowledge would have prevented simple problems.”
The five busiest Colorado search-and-rescue teams are:
1. Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, based in Boulder.
Busiest locations for rescue missions: Eldorado Canyon and the Boulder Flatirons, followed by the Indian Peaks Wilderness and Boulder Canyon.
“Our numbers fluctuate year to year, but, on average, the locations aren’t changing much for us,” said Jeff Sparhawk.
The group’s busiest years have been 2016, with 195 missions, and 2015, with 188 missions. Before that, the busiest year was 2012, which yielded 163 missions. Sparhawk said his volunteer team’s missions in 2017 are tracking along the same trajectory as the previous two record-setting years.
2. El Paso County Search and Rescue Team, based in Colorado Springs.
Busiest locations for rescue missions: the 13-mile Barr Trail to the summit of Pikes Peak and the popular Manitou Incline.
Last year, the county’s searchand-rescue team was called to both spots 30 times, and 2017 appears to be tracking toward a similar showing.
3. Alpine Rescue Team, based in Evergreen.
Busiest locations for rescue missions: Mount Bierstadt and St. Mary’s Glacier, followed by fourteeners Mount Evans and Grays and Torreys peaks.
“I think it’s safe to say that these ... locations are usually the top (ones), in varying order over the years,” said Howard Paul. “That has been true for the last 25 years. The popularity of the four has not changed, just the volume and distribution of calls. The shift to Mount Bierstadt is a change for Alpine.”
From January 2016 through last month, the Alpine Rescue Team has visited the 14,065-foot Mount Bierstadt — the state’s easily accessed and most-trafficked fourteener — 39 times. With Colorado’s soaring population, Bierstadt has become a big draw, with the trailhead packed with 300 to 400 cars every weekend morning in the summer and fall. Mount Evans and St. Mary’s, which the Alpine Rescue Team has visited a combined 35 times since Jan. 1, 2016, draws more casual visitors and tourists who would not be considered hikers or mountaineers, Paul said.
4. Summit County Rescue Group, based in Summit County.
Busiest locations for rescue missions: For many years, the 14,265-foot Quandary Peak has been the top spot for rescues, followed by the steep hiking and climbing areas just above Frisco and Silverthorne.
“Generally, the heavy hitter for us is the Quandary Peak area. Those missions can tend to be much more technical in nature and often eight, 10 or 12 hours. … They are very tiring for the team,” said Summit County Rescue Group spokesman Charles Pitman of the county’s most accessible fourteener. “Unfortunately, many people are unprepared, get tired and often try to take a shortcut down. That leads to all sorts of problems, such as getting cliffed out or worse. In some years it has led to fatalities. And missions in the dead of winter are dangerous, long and generally the person in trouble is really in serious trouble.”
In recent years, rescuers have seen increasing calls to areas around the county’s urban centers of Frisco and Silverthorne for missions that mostly involve injured or lost hikers.
“Last year, the number of missions spiked to the highest ever,” Pitman said. “And overall, the numbers have been creeping up annually. This year is on pace to probably not attain last year’s figures, but there is still half the year to go.”
5. Douglas County Search and Rescue Team, based in Castle Rock.
Busiest locations for rescue missions: urban areas around Douglas County communities.
In recent years, Douglas County rescuers have seen calls for help shift to cities from the wilderness.
“The majority of our missions are now urban callouts for dementia and Alzheimer’s walkaway subjects, and at-risk or lost juveniles,” said team spokesman Shawn Strain.
In the past, the group was busiest in the Pike National Forest’s Rampart Range area, with popular spots such as Devil’s Head and Rainbow Falls. Now the team spends a majority of its missions closer to pavement.
“It is speculation as to exactly why this transition has occurred, but technology — with less lost people in the wilderness due to cellphones and less-expensive GPS products — and a growing elderly population are certainly factors,” Strain said.