Complex rescue saves injured snowboarder after 100-foot fall, CO officials say

A 27-year-old snowboarder was rescued after falling 100 feet down a mountain, Colorado officials said.

On Sept. 8, a man had fallen 100 feet down a snowfield in Skyscraper Glacier near Rollins Pass before coming to rest in a deep crevasse, according to an Instagram post from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.

Left with a broken ankle, he was caught between the “snow and a rock cliff” at about 12,000 feet, according to a Facebook post from the Grand County Search and Rescue.

Two members of Boulder’s Rocky Mountain Rescue Group were airlifted to the area but weather conditions prevented additional helicopters from being deployed, rescuers said.

A rescue plan was put into effect and the man was put in a rescue stretcher before teams began to move him to the top of the snowfield with an uphaul of about 150 feet on a 50-degree slope, officials said.

Twelve members drove up to the area on ATVs and trucks while two Grand County deputies with drones headed toward the area, officials said.

Once the man was taken to the top of the snowfield, “there was still a short pitch of steep, loose rock” before reaching the helicopter’s landing zone, rescuers said.

The helicopter, using night vision goggles, arrived at the area and transported the injured man to a hospital in Denver, rescuers said.

Boulder County is about a 50-mile drive northwest from Denver.

This story was originally published September 11, 2025 at 10:08 AM.