*** El Paso County Team rescues Ill Family on Pikes Peak *** Date sent: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 22:22:29 -0700 From: Ron Lee To: sar_admin@mindlink.bc.ca Subject: El Paso County (CO) Team rescues family struck with illness on Pikes Peak MISSION BRIEF: July 18, 1996 EPCSAR rescues family of 4 stricken with illness in violent Pikes Peak storm. 09:15 hours 18 July 96 El Paso County Search and Rescue, Colorado Springs, was alerted to a family's distress calls from 12,500 ft elevation on the east face of Pikes Peak. Using a portable cellular phone, the family requested aid when four of the five members fell ill to mountain sickness after spending the night on the mountain. Search and rescue responded to the 14,110 ft summit by highway. Rescue member Craig Setzer, a meteorologist and weather broadcaster from television station KRDO, provided ungoing monitoring of weather conditions. The team was alerted to an impending storm by Setzer and expedited their descent to the family located in a shelter known as "A-Frame". Torrential rains and frequent lightning made evacuating the victims extremely hazardous. A decision was made to remain at A-frame to treat the victims and hopefully get them into condition to walk on their own. The plan was to start moving them down to Barr Camp, about two miles further down the trail when they were physically able and weather conditions permitted. The family from Nebraska consisted of the father, mother and three children ranging from 6 to 9 years old. Only the father seemed to have avoided mountain sickness. The 9 year old boy appeared to have suffered the most and was carried to Barr Camp by one of the rescuers. Rescuers and patients moved down the mountain to Barr Camp in three groups to avoid mass casualties in the event of a lightning strike. The lightning subsided at times and the groups moved rapidly down during these periods. The torrential rains continued throughout the entire operation. The rescue teams and their charges arrived at Barr Camp in the early afternoon. Barr Camp is a manned facility to provide emergency shelter to hikers on the Barr Trail. Caretakers provided hot meals for the patients. Arrangements were made for the ensemble to hitch a ride on the Manitou and Pikes Peak cog railway which runs in a canyon about 1.5 miles south of Barr Camp. The tourist train was returning from the summit to Manitou and was filled with tourists. The railway people generously allowed our team and the patients to ride in the aisles for the emergency descent from the mountain. The rains continued throughout the entire operation and flash flood warnings and watches were posted throughout the Pikes Peak area due to the enormous amount of water that dropped from the skies. Everyone arrived at the cog railway station at 16:50 hours. The patients were turned over to AMR ambulance crews. submitted by Ron Lee To see other mission reports of the El Paso County (CO) team go to http://www.frii.com/~ronlee/missons.htm --------------------------------------