Telluride Sheriff Slams BASE Jumper for Wasting Helicopter Resources

“His decisions unnecessarily diverted emergency resources, including a Care Flight helicopter, that may have been needed for other emergencies.”

That’s Sheriff Dan Covault in his own words, and he’s not mincing them. The subject of his ire is a 31-year-old Grand Junction man who triggered a multi-agency rescue near Telluride on Monday, only to tell rescuers he was fine and walk away.

The incident started around 2:45 p.m. The man activated a Garmin SOS device, reporting he’d fallen 150 to 200 feet during a BASE jump and believed he broke his leg. He couldn’t walk. That single message set off a chain reaction that cost taxpayers time, fuel, and manpower.

A CareFlight helicopter was deployed to the scene, hovering at roughly 13,000 feet. Ground teams from San Miguel County SAR didn’t just drive up; they loaded motorcycles and UTVs, hiked 1.5 miles carrying litters and gear to the Lewis Lake area. San Juan County SAR members joined the fray, ascending from their own county access points.

When the local ground team finally reached him, the man was walking around. He told them his chute failed to deploy. He claimed he was an experienced BASE jumper and was alone. He was also a member of a SAR team in another region, which adds a layer of irony to the whole affair — a rescuer who got rescued.

Despite recommendations from the crews on the ground, he declined helicopter transport. He declined further assistance. He just wanted to go home.

He eventually descended on foot, watched by San Juan County SAR personnel, accompanied by a friend who had hiked up to meet him. The county rescue team didn’t get to leave early, though. They endured a prolonged egress back to Bridal Veil Falls, safely clearing the field just before 10 p.m. The mission officially closed at 11:30 p.m.

Covault condemned the man’s actions as a “profound lack of respect” for emergency resources. The sheriff noted the man had a prior rescue history, including a BASE-jumping accident in the Swiss Alps about 10 years ago where he was stranded for 13 hours. That previous incident involved nearly two dozen rescuers and three helicopters.

This wasn’t a first-time tourist who twisted an ankle on a hiking trail. This was a guy who knew the risks, jumped off a cliff alone, and then used up a significant chunk of the county’s emergency capacity to prove it.

The cost isn’t just in the fuel for the helicopter or the overtime for the deputies. It’s in the opportunity cost. When that CareFlight helicopter is sitting at Lewis Lake waiting for a guy who just wants to hike down, it’s not available for the kid who falls off the cliff in the next valley, or the motorcyclist with a broken femur on Highway 145.

The man is not identified in the report. He declined medical transport. He walked away. And the rest of us are left with the bill for the privilege of watching him do it.