A skier with a broken leg was rescued Wednesday afternoon from the Aspen Mountain sidecountry, according to the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.<\/p>\n
The 40-year-old man was skiing with two others in the Difficult area on the east side of Richmond Ridge off the top of Aspen Mountain, officials said in a news release Thursday morning. The group was on a sidecountry route that drops down the valley to McFarland Lane, which is 2.5 miles east of Aspen heading up Independence Pass.<\/p>\n
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the group tried to move the man after his injury and got to about 9,300 feet before stopping because of the skier’s pain. They contacted authorities just before 5 p.m. and made a fire.<\/p>\n
The group stopped about 1,300 feet above the valley and a Mountain Rescue Aspen volunteer team reached them at 7:32 p.m., according to the release.<\/p>\n
A second team was sent to help get the skier down to the road. The skier, whose hometown was not available, was taken to Aspen Valley Hospital.<\/p>\n
In the news release, the Sheriff’s Office sent a reminder to be prepared and equipped for “the hazards that exist in the backcountry and (to) be aware of the start time of your journey.”<\/p>\n