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Date: August 8, 2009
Contact: Kyle Patterson, 970-586-1363

At 1:30 p.m. today, August 8, 2009, the Grand County Sheriff’s office received a 911 call and passed the information on to Rocky Mountain National Park dispatch. A 32 year old male, hometown unknown, had a 20 foot tumbling, sliding fall near the summit of Mount Ida. He suffered a broken leg and cuts and bruises. Two rangers reached the patient at 5:25 p.m. He is located a few hundred feet below the ridgeline of Mount Ida in loose rock and scree. A litter team of 7 park rangers headed to the area but were turned back because of nightfall. Two rangers will stay with the injured man overnight. Rangers will assess the situation at first light tomorrow morning and determine whether the man will be carried by a litter to the summit and flown out or carried by a litter to the trailhead. Both scenarios will require a technical litter carry-out for part of the rescue.

Mount Ida (12,880 ft.) is located 4.5 miles from the Milner Pass Trailhead off of Trail Ridge Road. The elevation gain from the trailhead is 2,130 feet.

Update (8/8/09, 10:02 p.m.):

We have five rangers who are staying with the patient overnight, in addition to a person who was hiking with the injured man. So seven people in total are spending the night near the summit of Mount Ida.