Man Seriously Injured In Fall Evacuated From Ouzel Falls

Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Man Seriously Injured In Fall Evacuated From Ouzel Falls

A visitor contacted a trail crew working near Calypso Cascades in the Wild Basin area last Thursday afternoon and reported that a 53-year-old man had fallen near Ouzel Falls and was seriously injured. The trail crew was on scene within 30 minutes and found a visitor assisting the injured man. A park medic arrived about two hours later and found that the man had suffered numerous traumatic injuries and needed advanced life support. A team of 20 rangers and trail crew members, assisted by seven Rocky Mountain Rescue volunteers, brought the man down through deep snow on a rescue toboggan and then employed a wheeled litter to traverse the lower section of the trail. The man was taken by ambulance to Estes Park Medical Center. While the cause of this accident is still under investigation, backcountry users have been advised to be aware of the unusually deep snow and high water in the backcountry, which are creating additional early season hazards that must be accounted for when travelling beyond the trailhead.