Man, woman injured while hiking in Ptarmigan Fingers area in RMNP

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. — A man and woman were injured while hiking in the Ptarmigan Fingers area above Odessa Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park Sunday.

Sometime in the afternoon, park rangers were notified that a Boulder man, 61, was injured during a “significant tumbling fall” on a snow couloir. Park rangers later determined that a Boulder woman, 59, was also injured from a fall in the same area.

Bystanders heard the woman’s cries for help and used their satellite communication devices to contact park rangers, RMNP officials said in a release Monday.

A Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance circled the area to help determine the man’s exact location. Due the man’s whereabouts and his injuries, park rangers requested the help of a Colorado National Guard helicopter to help hoist the man to safety.

The man was hoisted around 8 p.m. Sunday and flown to Upper Beaver Meadows. He was then flown to Medical Center of the Rockies via a Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance.

The woman was cared for overnight by members of the Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue team, along with overnight campers at Odessa Lake. Around 11 a.m. Monday, she was flown out by a Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance.

More than 45 people were involved in the two-day incident, according to park officials.