Around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, the Glenwood Springs Fire Department responded to a report of a climber who had fallen approximately 40 feet while on a multipitch climb called “Mudflap Girl” on the Grizzly Creek trailhead, according to a news release from the city of Glenwood Springs. 

The climb is over 700 feet tall, and the approximate location of the injured party was about 400‐500 feet up the climb. The incident lasted approximately four and a half hours from dispatch time to the last unit cleared, according to the release. 

“The Garfield County Search and Rescue Team, Mountain Rescue Aspen and Vail Mountain Rescue responded due to the difficulty and extensive manpower required to extricate an injured person from the area,” the release states. “The High‐Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site (HAATS) was contacted and with coordination with Mountain Rescue Aspen were able to access the injured party and his climbing partner via a single rescuer that was lowered to the parties from a helicopter and then hoisted up to the hovering craft.” 

After both parties were retrieved, they were then flown to Glenwood Springs Municipal Airport where a Glenwood Springs Fire Department Ambulance transported them to Valley View Hospital. The city of Glenwood Springs said in the release that they will not be releasing any information on the extent of the injuries. 

The release cited a total of 36 rescuers for having helped with the incident, including the Glenwood Springs Fire Department, Garfield County Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue, Vail Mountain Rescue, Mountain Rescue Aspen, Air National Guard and the Colorado Department of Transportation.   

Incident Commander Battalion Chief Jesse Hood credited the success of the rescue to the professionalism of all the parties who participated in the operation, according to the release.