Snowboarder Rescued After 100-Foot Fall on Colorado Glacier

A 27-year-old snowboarder was rescued late Monday after plummeting roughly 100 feet over the edge of Skyscraper Glacier near Rollins Pass and spending more than three hours stranded on the ice, Boulder County authorities said.

The snowboarder took the fall while attempting to descend the permanent snowfield at about 2:30 p.m., the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said. His fall was arrested when he collided with a bergschrund, a crevasse that forms where moving glacier ice separates from the stagnant ice above, but he sustained what officials described as "serious injuries." He was not publicly identified.

Teams from the Colorado Search and Rescue Association, assisted by personnel from the Colorado National Guard, reached the injured rider at about 5:45 p.m., the sheriff’s office said. Rescuers had to traverse an approximately 300-foot swath of glacial snow to reach the site where he was pinned at the bergschrund, then rigged him into a secured stretcher and rescue basket for extraction.

Medical personnel provided care while the snowboarder was hoisted into the air, and he was placed in a medevac helicopter and flown to a nearby hospital around 8:10 p.m., roughly six hours after the fall. Ground crews completed the retrieval and then hiked out of the field; the sheriff’s office said the rescue mission concluded close to 1 a.m. Tuesday.

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said rescuers encountered challenging terrain on the glacier and that reaching the injured man required specialized rope and mountaineering techniques. Officials did not disclose additional details about the snowboarder’s condition or the specific nature of his injuries.

Skyscraper Glacier, a well-known permanent snowfield near Rollins Pass, is frequented by backcountry skiers and snowboarders. Colorado agencies have repeatedly warned that glacial and off-piste terrain can present hidden hazards such as crevasses, unstable snow bridges and sudden changes in conditions, and that self-rescue may be difficult in remote areas.

Colorado has seen several prominent winter-sports incidents this season, including a December chairlift malfunction at Winter Park Resort that left more than 100 skiers and snowboarders stranded in midair and required rope descents, and a January incident in which a longtime resort visitor was found buried in an avalanche after venturing off marked runs. Authorities emphasized that those incidents, like Monday’s rescue, highlight the risks of backcountry and off-trail travel.

The sheriff’s office said the rescue involved multiple local and state agencies and thanked all personnel who assisted. Investigators did not provide any immediate details about what led the snowboarder to take his descent route or whether any enforcement action would follow.