By Cliff Pinckard
cleveland.com
CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colorado 鈥� Rescuers searching for a missing hiker managed to spot footprints in deep snow, eventually leading them to an 鈥渦nusual rock鈥� that turned out to be the hiker huddled in a fetal position.
The hiker, whose name and age were not released, was 鈥渧ery hypothermic鈥� but alive when found by rescuers with the Chaffee County Search and Rescue North team. Rescuers spent about three hours warming the hiker at that location before beginning a 鈥渓ong, steep, arduous extraction.鈥�
A from the rescue team says it was notified of the missing hiker at about 7 p.m. on Nov. 8 . The hiker had climbed a 13,000-foot mountain but then was caught without water, food and wearing only a cotton hooded sweat shirt as poor weather moved in.
The hiker decided to head down an 鈥渁valanche chute鈥� in hopes of reaching a road more quickly, the news release says. Although the hiker had a phone, it did not provide a GPS location. The hiker told rescuers that they were in an avalanche chute east of Cottonwood Lake .
Rescuers told the hiker to keep moving down the chute as about 25 members of rescue team began their search during the snowstorm. Rescuers searched several avalanche chutes but were unable to locate the hiker.
A team spotted footprints in 6 to 8 inches of new snow at about 12:42 a.m. They were following the prints when they spotted an 鈥渦nusual-looking rock鈥� at about 2 a.m. The rock turned out to be the hiker, who was covered in snow, sitting upright in a fetal position.
At 5 a.m. , rescuers began lowering the hiker down using ropes. At about 6:15 a.m. , the hiker told rescuers they were able to walk down and reached an ambulance by 7 a.m.
No information has been reported on the hiker鈥檚 condition.
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