Impact Stories

CSAR's programs create impact by:

Improving backcountry safety for Colorado recreationists through our BSAR State Coordinator Program and through backcountry safety education
Improving the skills of volunteer responders
Advocating for the safety of volunteer responders
Maintaining the sustainability of the backcountry search and rescue system in Colorado

Here are a few stories about our impact:

A Hunter’s Life Saved in Gunnison County

At 7:30 one October morning, Western Mountain Rescue Team (WMRT) received a call about a hunter who had injured his leg when he fell crossing a stream. He was in a steep-walled valley at the intersection of the Beaver Creek trail and the Little Mill Creek trail and could not walk. The team had recently done another rescue in the area, and WMRT’s mission coordinator, McKenzie McConnell, quickly realized that evacuation options were challenging; they could carry him out on a trail for 20 miles, or they could use uphaul systems to zigzag 1.5 miles up the side of the valley with 2800 feet of elevation gain. The hunter was over six feet tall and weighed more than 200 pounds, so neither option would be easy, but the team opted for the uphaul.

Hypothermic Backpacker Rescue in Saguache County

Many Colorado BSAR organizations are large teams of 50 to 80 well-trained volunteers. But some of the more remote counties have very small teams and struggle to find the members they need to respond to calls.

Saguache County, for example, has a search and rescue coordinator but only a few responders. They are often assisted by surrounding counties when they have a call, and due to their location, their calls often involve tough technical responses on Kit Carson and Challenger Point. In November of 2024, at 9:30 pm, SAR coordinator David Frees was notified of a 20-year-old solo backpacker...

Crested Butte Speed Flier Rescue

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Crested Butte, and a group of speed fliers were preparing to launch from Baldy Mountain. Speed flying is a sport similar to paragliding using a smaller wing designed for descent rather than ascent.

The first pilot launched and was flying close to the ground when disaster struck. His speed wing dipped and struck a tree, sending him crashing to the ground and breaking his femur in two places. Fortunately, the group was well equipped with radios and were using two spotters, one at the top and one at the bottom. The spotter at the top had cell reception and was able to call 911.

Making a Difference through Responder Education

Early in my now 24-year-old rescue career, it became important to me to look beyond a single incident or a single rescue subject or even a single BSAR team. Maybe it was the first MRA test I was a part of, or the first interagency mutual aid call I responded to, but I recognized a distinct personal drive to uncover two things: How other rescue teams rescued, and how I could do more for more patients. In 2016, that answer came to me in the form of a request to join CSAR, and more specifically, CSAR’s Education Program.

My vision has always been to elevate the Education Program across the state; to provide consistent and relevant training to other SAR teams, particularly those teams lacking time, funds, and people...

Corporate Retreat Gone Wrong on Shavano

In the summer of 2024, a group of 15 colleagues were hiking Mount Shavano as part of a corporate retreat fundraising hike. They left at sunrise and successfully summited the 14,230’ peak, but they made an almost fatal mistake. As the clouds came in, the main group descended from the summit, passing one of their slower colleagues who was left to make the final summit push alone. This was not his first 14er, but he was feeling off that day. After summiting, he became disoriented in the clouds. He lost the trail in a steep boulder field as the worsening storm was closing in. At 9pm, in buffeting winds and freezing rain, his colleagues called 911 to activate Chaffee County Search and Rescue South.

CSAR’s Advocacy Impacts

One of CSAR’s top focuses during the past decade has been ensuring the sustainability of the BSAR system in Colorado in the face of constantly rising call volume and a changing volunteer society. We care about the safety of the professional volunteer responders and we look for ways to support them so they are able to respond when needed. Our state, with its trillion-dollar outdoor recreation economy, sees increasing numbers of residents and visitors recreating in the backcountry every year. Some teams have challenges with recruiting or retaining volunteers due to the remoteness of the area or the cost of living in a mountain town, and other teams have challenges finding volunteers to handle the administrative load of the team.