Colorado Army National Guard records highest-known hoist rescue ever in Colorado
By Alan Gionet
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DENVER, Colorado (KCNC) — A rescue mission flown to retrieve an injured climber last weekend is now the highest known hoist rescue ever in Colorado.
On June 13, a Colorado Army National Guard UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter lifted two hoist rescue technicians to an injured man from a saddle on the east side of Crestone Peak near the border of Custer and Saguache Counties.
The Army National Guard says the man was hoisted at 14,356 feet, with the UH-60L Blackhawk maintaining a peak hover at 14,380 feet with 180 feet of cable extended.
The climber was a man who had fallen 30 feet and while he was wearing a helmet he complained of head and other injuries.
Search and rescue teams from Custer and Saguache Counties as well as Alamosa were hiking in on the ground as two hoist rescue specialists from Alpine Rescue were lowered in from the air. Two other medical helicopters were nearby on either side of the peak to assist as well.
Once the man was lifted off the mountain, he was airlifted to medical care and at last word was doing well. Saturday’s rescue exceeded the height flown during a rescue in 2025 on Torreys Peak in which a lightning victim was retrieved. That person was hoisted from an altitude of over 14,200 feet. High altitude flying is inherently risky because of the lack of lift in thin air.
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