Hiker evac'd by helicopter after reportedly collapsing on popular Aspen-area trail

A hiker was rescued via helicopter on Pitkin County's East Maroon Trail on the afternoon of July 23.

According to the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office, local emergency dispatch received a call for help related to a hiker experiencing a medical situation at about 3 p.m. The hiker was reportedly suffering from heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and weakness, with a Denver Post report on the situation noting that the hiker had also collapsed.

Resources from Mountain Rescue Aspen and a helicopter from CareFlight of the Rockies were requested to assist the hiker, deploying at about 3:55 p.m. Contact was made with the hiker by 5:00 p.m., with the hiker transported to Aspen Valley Hospital for medical care.

Rescue crews made it out of the field by 7:30 p.m.

Additional information related to current health status of the hiker was not released in a report about the situation from the sheriff's office.

Authorities noted how this incident highlights that response time can be longer when an injury or medical situation occurs in the backcountry. Even with the quick response in this case, it still took about two hours to reach the subject. This can make it important for those in the backcountry to have basic first aid skills, as well as a GPS-based emergency communication device that can allow for reliable communication about the location of the incident.

East Maroon Trail is about five miles southwest of Aspen and is considered the primary access point for the Maroon Bells Wilderness area. Those traveling the full length of East Maroon Trail to Copper Basin travel about 21 miles throughout the entire out-and-back route with close to 4,000 feet of elevation gain, according to AllTrails .

If you're interested in supporting Colorado's volunteer-powered search and rescue operation, one way to do so is through the purchase of a CORSAR card . It's cheap, at only $5 per year.

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