Mission Report: Yankee Hill

Yesterday, Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery responded to a request from the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office for a stranded party in the Yankee Hill area. This party become stranded one day prior when their vehicle got stuck in a snow drift and slid partially off the trail. Luckily, they were able to find slight cell coverage and call 911.

Our team was able to assemble and deploy on scene in less than 4 hours, and successfully locate the client. In this case, our response allowed local SAR teams to stay available in case of a more pressing emergency.

After a stressful 27 hour stay in the backcountry, the clients are safe and healthy.

Our communications, run by our Board of Directors, the recovery Administrator, and on scene members licensed for Amateur Radio operation provided crucial communication in this area with no cell coverage. The team was able to communicate with control in both Highlands Ranch, and Loveland Colorado, allowing remote coordination of a backcountry operation. Additionally we utilized APRS to provide real time tracking and location information for the team. Ham radio proved invaluable, as members of this organization knew it soon would. We thank the local clubs and organizations including the Colorado Connection and Rocky Mountain Radio League for maintaining and allowing the use of their repeaters during this response.

We thank the Gilpin County Sheriffs Office for their trust, our members for their response, and our volunteers for stepping up to provide the absolute best service we can to our clients.

Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery “We Recover the Rockies”

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