Injured climber rescued from Colorado's Crestone Needle

Search and rescue crews made a technical rope rescue on Monday after a climber fell on Crestone Needle.

The mountain is a 14er located in Saguache County in the Sangre de Cristo Range. It's a challenging climb, including technical class four scrambling and steep drop-offs.

According to Custer County Search and Rescue, a man was with a group of five people descending from the summit when he was seriously injured in a fall around 11 a.m. Other members of his group and nearby climbers witnessed the fall, called 911, and provided assistance.

CCSAR says they coordinated with Saguache County SAR to reach the climber, who was unconscious but was still breathing.

CommonSpirit Flight for Life helped the technical rope rescue team at Cottonwood Lake begin the ascent to reach the injured man. Meanwhile, the Colorado Search and Rescue Association began coordinating the hoist rescue. The team safely extracted him by 3.44 p.m.

Authorities did not release details about the climber's condition.