PITKIN COUNTY, Colo. – A young man died while hiking Thomas Lake Trail in Pitkin County late Friday morning, according to the sheriff’s office.
At around 11:52 a.m., the Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center was alerted that a 35-year-old man had possibly experienced a cardiac event and had passed out while hiking Thomas Lakes Trail.
The trail is a nearly 8-mile out-and-back trail just outside Carbondale and is popular with hikers looking for a relatively easy day hike and backpackers seeking to summit Mt. Sopris, according to the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.
The person who called dispatch, the girlfriend of the patient, gave them their coordinates and deputies immediately requested Mountain Rescue Aspen, MRA, to help in their rescue, as well as a Flight For Life helicopter.
Deputies said Flight For Life took off at around 12:20 p.m. and five minutes later, members of an all-volunteer group, MRA, and Pitkin County Backcountry Community Response Officer deployed into the field.
At approximately 1:04 p.m., Flight For Life team members reached the patient and his girlfriend. At around 1:20 p.m., Flight For Life team members pronounced the 35-year-old dead at the scene.
All members of the Mountain Rescue Aspen team and Flight for Life were safely out of the field by 4 p.m.
“The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office and Mountain Rescue Aspen would like to remind everyone of the importance of being aware of their surroundings, knowing their limitations, and being conscious of the dangers of backcountry hiking,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The Pitkin County Coroner’s Office will investigate the cause of death and release the identity of the deceased after family has been notified.