Climber rescued from Maroon Bells after fall

A climber was rescued Sunday after a fall at the Maroon Bells near Aspen, according to the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.

An off-duty member of Mountain Rescue Aspen encountered the climber, who was not identified, after the climber had fallen about 20 feet Sunday morning when his hands slipped from a rock on the traverse between Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak, according to a statement from the Sheriff’s Office. The accident happened around 13,800 feet in elevation, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The climber was unable to walk due to a suspected leg break as well as injuries to his hip, back, ribs and head, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Mountain Rescue Aspen requested the assistance of a Blackhawk helicopter from the High Altitude Aviation Training Site in Gypsum, which reached and retrieved the injured climber shortly after noon, the Sheriff’s Office said. The climber was flown to a waiting air ambulance at the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport.