GYPSUM, Colo. – A remarkable nighttime rescue by the Colorado Army National Guard (COARNG) has set a new benchmark for military aviation in Colorado, achieving the highest hoist ever executed by a military aircraft in the state.
On June 12, 2025, the crew of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flew to an elevation of around 14,200 feet to successfully rescue two hikers stranded near the summit of Torreys Peak in Arapaho National Forest.
This operation surpassed the previous record of roughly 13,700 feet, showcasing the exceptional capabilities of the National Guard’s aviation resources.
The urgent request for assistance came from the Colorado National Guard Joint Operations Center in Centennial, alerting the High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site in Gypsum.
Two hikers, who had ventured to Torreys Peak, became trapped in a storm, and tragically, both were struck by lightning, leaving one of them unresponsive while their phone battery was nearly depleted.
Due to severe weather conditions, ground rescue efforts were not feasible, making the deployment of a Colorado National Guard UH-60 helicopter essential.
Lt. Col. Scott Tucker, the State Army Aviation Officer for Colorado, emphasized the importance of National Guard aviation assets in such rescues, noting that many remote locations along Colorado’s 14ers are very difficult to access on the ground.
“The Colorado National Guard allocates helicopter assets to help the rescue technicians with rescues in the backcountry. Some of these rescues could take up to 36 hours to accomplish on the ground,” Tucker stated.
The four-man crew responding to the crisis included Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jason Reider as Pilot in Command, Lt. Col. Brion Stroud as the pilot, and Crew Chiefs Sgt. 1st Class Wade Shore and Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Hubbard.
In addition to the flight crew, civilian rescue technicians Jessica Hall and Sean O’Brien from the Vail Mountain Rescue Group were onboard to assist in the critical rescue operation.
Hubbard explained that several mathematical calculations needed to be performed regarding the helicopter’s weight, fuel, passengers, and the often-shifting environmental conditions such as temperature and wind speed to determine if a safe hoist operation was possible.
“Power calculations were starting to turn in our favor; however, we were still too heavy,” said Hubbard.
As the crew circled the summit for nearly an hour, they burned fuel to reduce weight and recalculated power margins in real time.
Finally, the pilots made a precision landing at the summit where the rescue technicians quickly prepared the unresponsive hiker for hoist extraction.
Despite challenging conditions with wind gusts reaching 30 knots, the crew maintained a steady hover as the technicians connected the hiker to the hoist.
“Once the critical patient was onboard, we would then return to the peak to execute a two-wheel landing to load the ambulatory patient,” Hubbard explained.
The critically injured hiker was transported to an ambulance awaiting at the Loveland Ski Area and subsequently taken to a hospital for further treatment.
The crew returned to the site to safely extract the second hiker, who was later transferred to a burn unit in Denver.
Notably, the COARNG consistently performs more backcountry search and rescue missions annually than any other state’s Army National Guard in the contiguous United States.
In 2024 alone, the COARNG conducted 29 search and rescue missions, logged over 87 flight hours, and saved 27 lives, further proving their vital role in emergency services in Colorado.
image source from：army
