One airlifted to Denver after avalanche - May 30
1 airlifted to Denver hospital after avalanche
PITKIN COUNTY - A local man and his brother were caught in an avalanche near Aspen on Sunday, forcing rescuers to bring in a Flight for Life helicopter.
The Pitkin County Sheriff's Office says the call came in around 9:15 a.m. from 27-year-old Mark Jansen of Denver.
Jansen told deputies he had been climbing on the north east side of Hagerman Peak, northwest of Snowmass Peak, when a cornice broke. Jansen and his brother, 32-year-old Timothy Jansen of Lanexa, Kan., were swept down the Hagerman Couloir where they came to rest on a steep part of the mountain.
Deputies say Mark Jansen was reportedly OK, but his brother was believed to have suffered possible serious injuries. Mountain Rescue Aspen, Pitkin County deputies and Flight for Life coordinated a rescue effort.
A helicopter airlifted the patient to Aspen Valley Hospital, but deputies say hospital staff immediately decided to have the patient flown to a Denver area hospital.
No other information was immediately available.
(KUSA-TV © 2010 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
