Mountain Rescue Aspen Responds to Hang Glider Collision and Maroon Peak Fall

Aspen —Mountain Rescue Aspen pulled double duty on Sunday, tackling a mid-air hang glider collision off the slopes of Aspen Mountain and a 500-foot fall on one of the valley’s most popular peaks within the same afternoon.

The Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center lit up early Sunday morning with the first report: two injured individuals after a hang glider and a paraglider collided. By the time the dust settled, the rescue organization had diverted teams to a second crisis on North Maroon Peak, proving that in the high country, no two days are ever quite the same.

An Aspen Mountain ranger arrived at the collision scene around 10:56 a.m., according to a press release. The aftermath was messy but manageable. One person walked away with minor injuries, declining further medical care after an ambulance evaluated them on-site. The second individual required a more involved extraction using a litter-and-rope system before being loaded into an ambulance for transport.

It’s not every day you see two different types of gliders tangled up in the sky. Parker Lathrop, chief deputy of operations at the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, noted that incidents of this specific nature are rare.

“I cannot think of the last time I heard of an incident involving a paraglider or a hang glider,” Lathrop told The Aspen Times. “Unfortunately, it’s a recreational accident.”

This marked the first time this summer that Mountain Rescue Aspen (MRA) has responded to a mission involving paragliders, according to MRA President Jordan White. The response was swift and coordinated. A total of 34 team members mobilized for the roughly two-and-a-half-hour rescue effort, working alongside Aspen Fire, Aspen Ambulance, and summer patrol rangers.

While crews were still en route to the glider incident, dispatchers received a second call. A climber had fallen approximately 500 feet on the north face of North Maroon Peak. The mountain is one of the most trafficked in the Aspen area, a fact that makes a 500-foot fall particularly alarming for locals who hike it regularly.

White explained the tactical pivot that saved critical time. “We had teams that were all headed toward the paraglider incident, and then we started to feel like we had enough resources on that, especially given that we were working with Aspen Fire, Aspen Ambulance and summer patrol rangers,” White said.

The decision to split forces allowed two MRA teams to be diverted directly to the area. They weren’t working alone, either. A helicopter from the High-Altitude Army Aviation Training Site, or HAATS, assisted with the evacuation of the fallen climber. The injured party was eventually transferred to an ambulance at the airport for continued medical care.

The Sunday rescues added to a summer that has been busy, though not quite as frantic as last year. White confirmed that MRA has responded to at least 55 incidents so far this season. That number is down from the 69 missions recorded during the same period last year, a statistic that might offer some small comfort to locals who worry about road closures or helicopter noise.

It’s worth remembering that these 34 rescuers aren’t full-time employees waiting for a shift to start. Search-and-rescue teams in Colorado, including MRA, are all volunteer-based. Their funding comes from a mix of grants, including a portion of hunting and fishing license sales that goes to search-and-rescue teams every year.

The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office used the press releases to urge individuals to carefully assess their own abilities before heading into the backcountry. It’s standard advice, but on a day when a glider hit a paraglider and a climber lost his footing on a steep slope, the advice feels less like a public service announcement and more like a warning.

The sun was still high over the north face when the last helicopter lifted off, carrying the climber toward the airport. The gliders were packed up, the ropes were coiled, and the 34 volunteers were already waiting for the next dispatch.