Crucial preparations helped Colorado rescuers save woman trapped on a narrow ridge after climbing partner's death

A 52-year-old Colorado man has been identified by the Clear Creek County coroner as the victim in a New Year's Eve day climbing accident along the Continental Divide. Rescuers say Shafiq Noorani, of Aurora, fell more than 500 feet and was deceased when they reached him.

Noorani was with a female climbing partner as the descended 13,300 foot Citadel Peak, a jagged mountain visible from Loveland Ski Area on the opposite side on Interstate 70. She did not fall, but was trapped on a narrow ridge for hours awaiting rescue.

Alpine Rescue Team, which led the rescue effort, says getting to the pair was a challenge. Daylight was ebbing as rescuers set up. Teams began the hike in on the ground, but it was expected it would take many hours to reach the climbers. Helicopters were called upon for assistance. The first, a Flight for Life helicopter, took run after run into the area but was rebuffed by winds and could not get to either climber.

"The Flight for Life helicopter is an amazing machine with amazing pilots. It's quick, it's nimble, it can get into tight spaces in the mountains, but it's very small and light, so the winds are going to have more effect on it," said Alpine Rescue's Dale Atkins.

A Colorado Army National Guard Blackhawk, equipped with a hoist, was called upon to assist. Pilots were able to lower Atkins and another member of the Colorado Hoist Rescue team to Noorani. Another rescue tech would be lifted and dropped to the ridge where the female climber waited.

Alpine Rescue has said the two were well prepared.

"She had headlamps, she had extra clothing. She had a bivouac, an emergency sack, that she crawled into to wait for us. So, she had all the right things, and I'm sure the two of them had all the right things," said Atkins.

But some of the equipment was gone.

"I know that he was carrying it, and he fell with the equipment. So, the best thing for her to do was to stay put," said Atkins. "It had to just be brutal for this person. She just watched her friend fall off the mountain."

They had good information from the woman's phone, but on a narrow ridge, in fading light, it would be difficult to find her. Night vision goggles worn by the pilot and hoist operator give a tube of vision, explained Atkins.

"We had good coordinates. She sent them to us. But even with seemingly bright colors, it blended into the shadows of the mountain. By that time in the afternoon, the sun was already behind the mountain ridges and dropping fast. So, she was tough to spot, even though we knew where to look," explained Atkins.

The woman used her headlamp light to alert crews and in a photo of the mountain her location can be seen as a white point of light in the vastness of the peak.

"She was on a small ledge on a really steep face, so there wasn't a whole lot of room to also get the helicopter in there and our fellow rescuer," said Atkins. The woman was lifted to safety.

To rescuers, they were trying to get to people who are like them.

"Our calls take us to help people, like this fellow, who's doing the things that we like to do, that we love to do," explained Atkins. "He was in one of the most beautiful spots in the Front Range Mountains in Colorado. He was, having great fun with his climbing partner. These are all the things we love to do."