Maroon Bells Traverse: Blackhawk Helicopter Rescue of Injured Climber

My 2 friends and i were tacking the Maroon Bells traverse (South to North) and mid way through we came upon a badly injured climber who took a 20+ foot fall while down climbing without a rope. We arrived just before a Blackhawk Helicopter arrived to airlift the injured climber to the ER. Pretty exciting. Sorry my helmet cam was angled down

[@stephenkittle6586]

SICK ASS PILOT!! 🥰🚁!!

[@higler.]

2:21 Dude in blue just power lifted that guy no problem

[@desertmaverick7567]

The extraction actually starts at time: 2:20.

[@fiarandompenaltygeneratorm5044]

I know nothing about helicopters or flying them, but I think it's safe to say from this video that this particular pilot is a GIGACHAD SUPREME.

[@v0zz3r]

EXACTLY! It was unbelievable watching him balance it on one wheel while they loaded the injured climber in. On top of all that, this was at 14,000 ft and I'm told the higher the altitude the harder it is to fly choppers due to the lower air density

[@backcountryMok]

Nice fireman's carry - thank you HAATS

[@jeremyhuntley8598]

same thing happened to me on Quandarys west ridge. Broke a boulder loose and nearly fell to my death

[@epicscreenname989]

Is rope necessary for this climb? No ropes are used on capitol so I’m a bit confused

[@v0zz3r]

To each his own, i'm too old to risk a fall without a rope. Lots of people do this traverse without a rope, but some of them play a price like this guy did. Fortunately it was a clear day and they were able to get him heli'd off the mountain. This 14'er is riddled with crumbling rock so I'd advise roping up. Good luck

[@epicscreenname989]

SterlingFails thanks for the response. I’m not a huge risk taker myself. I was planning to make this climb this weekend but I’m definitely not prepared safety wise. Thanks for this incredible video it gave me pause.

[@rockymtnmason3925]

Bad thing on these elk peaks, the rock is so garbage finding a sturdy tie off point isn't the easiest proposition. Hence why some folks make the decision to free climb.

[@phoenixking5000]

Some are

[@sinc650]

The description said they fell while down climbing so I'm guessing they were going from North Maroon to Maroon. When doing the traverse in this direction most people use a role to rappel the 5.3 sections. Theoretically, if you are comfortable down climbing 5.3 you could do it without a rope, but if you don't want to use a rope it makes more sense to traverse from maroon to north maroon so you can just climb the 5.3 section instead of downclimbing which is more difficult. The reason no ropes are used on capitol is that capitol is all 4th class so there's no technical climbing.

[@jeremyhuntley8598]

same thing happened to me on Quandarys west ridge. Broke a boulder loose and nearly fell to my death

[@bobsaget9014]

Jeremy Huntley rough