Arap Glacier Rescue, as paged

[jimmnn]

NEDERLAND - Two injured teenage boys spent the night in the wilderness with rescuers after an accident on the Arapahoe Glacier.

The boys, ages 16 and 17 years old, were sliding on the glacier in the Indian Peaks National Wilderness area Thursday afternoon when one of them broke his leg and the other hit his head.

Helicopters were unable to reach the boys Thursday because of terrain and darkness so ground crews hiked in to take care of them overnight. Crews moved the teens to an area where a helicopter picked them up Friday morning.

Both boys are now hospitalized.

Officials say one of the teens called 911 from the area where the accident happened. However, because of intermittent cell service in the area, the call was first routed to Adams County. Boulder County officials eventually received the call and dispatched rescuers.

Officials say both boys are from the Boulder area.

 

[jimmnn]

From BCSO Press Release

Teens injured on Arapaho Glacier

On July 6, 2006 at approximately 5:00 p.m. the Boulder Regional Communications Center received a 911 call from the area of the Rainbow Lakes Camp Ground. Because of intermittent cellular service in the area the call initially was received by the Adams County Communications Center and transferred to several other centers prior to being correctly routed to our center. The only information received from the call was that there was some type of emergency on the Arapaho Glacier, which is located in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.

When deputies and rescue personnel arrived they determined that two teens, age 16 and 17, had been sliding on the glacier and sustained injuries. One received head injuries, the other a broken leg. Both of the teens live in the Boulder area.

Two helicopter ambulances, Lifeguard 1 and Airlife 73, were summoned but due to terrain and the impending darkness they were unable to evacuate the patients by helicopter. As of 9:00 p.m. the plan is for Rocky Mountain Rescue Group to evacuate the victims via ground, which will take all night due to their location.