A 56-year-old man hunting near Williams Lake west of Aspen died Friday night after hiking along a ridge in a remote area of Pitkin County, officials said Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
Emergency officials received a notification at 6:41 p.m. of hunters in distress in unincorporated Pitkin County about 8 miles west of Aspen, according to a news release Saturday morning from the Pitkin County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
The man, whose name and hometown have not been released, was hiking about three-quarters of a mile from Williams Lake and \u201ccollapsed while traversing across a ridge line near 11,000 feet in elevation,\u201d officials said.<\/p>\n
CPR instructions were given by the county\u2019s dispatch center, a helicopter was deployed from Care Flight in Rifle and volunteer crews from Mountain Rescue Aspen mobilized.<\/p>\n
Because of the remote area, the helicopter circled the area but could not find a suitable land zone, according to the news release. CPR efforts continued but were stopped after nearly an hour following direction from emergency officials.<\/p>\n
Recovery plans for the man\u2019s body started Saturday morning. Williams Lake is roughly midway between Mount Sopris and Capitol Peak in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area. The lake is about 2 miles from the Hell Roaring trailhead on Capitol Creek Road. <\/p>\n