A backcountry skier fell nearly 2,000 feet off the Skywalker Couloir on South Arapaho Peak the morning of Sunday, June 16, 2024.

Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) and several agencies, including Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD), responded to the call made at 10:37 a.m. by two off-duty firefighters who witnessed the 47-year-old skier’s fall.

After calling 911, the two off-duty firefighters descended to where the skier had landed, and, once reaching him, immediately began administering first aid. Personnel from Rocky Mountain Rescue Group were flown in by MedEvac, landed nearby and climbed up to begin assisting in the rescue.

Rescuers from other organizations, including BCSO, NFPD, Boulder County Open Space, Colorado Search and Rescue Association, and American Medical Response hiked to the scene from the Fourth of July trailhead and brought additional equipment to attend to the skier’s condition.

The man was placed into a full-body vacuum splint, which is used to expediently stabilize any fractured or dislocated limbs and is typically made from clear vinyl or nylon sheeting. Colorado Hoist Rescue Team hoisted the man from the ridge where he landed and transported him to the Nederland Middle-Senior High School. From there the skier was brought to a local hospital via AMR ambulance.

Eric Abramson of the NFPD spoke to The Mountain-Ear about how Nederland firefighters and medical personnel helped to transition the injured man from the backcountry to the hospital, and how they serve as part of the bigger effort together with fellow search and rescue operators.

“Our team really has unique experience living here in the mountains; they’ve been in the backcountry most of their lives,” Abramson said, adding how NFPD’s wildland operations program has expanded and how their training courses have been seeing more attendance.

“We go all the way up to the Continental Divide, and as you know, it can get dangerous.”

Abramson commented on how each agency has particular skills and experience that is essential to the greater picture of such important rescue operations, stating as an example that the helicopter service provided at the scene helped to greatly expedite what could have been a 10-hour wildland rescue.

It was also noted that this latest incident was the third rescue in roughly the same area that the NFPD has conducted over the last five years.

Though he suffered serious injuries, the skier was kept in stable condition throughout the rescue, thanks to the efforts of the various rescuers, police, fire, and medical experts who answered the call.