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Hiker Lost In Deep Snow Found By Skiers Lucky To Be Alive

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. (CBS4) – Officials with Rocky Mountain National Park say a hiker is lucky to be alive after getting lost in the backcountry Friday and spending the night in deep snow.

According to Kyle Patterson with Rocky Mountain National Park, the 58-year-old man from Grand Forks, North Dakota, was found "in deep snow approximately 300 yards off the North Longs Peak Trail, south of Alberta Falls" by two skiers.

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(credit: Rocky Mountain National Park)

"Park rangers reached the man and provided advanced medical care. He was suffering from hypothermia and additional injuries related to exposure. He was evacuated via a toboggan litter to Glacier Gorge Trailhead where he was taken by an Estes Park Medical Center ambulance to the Park and Ride area along Bear Lake Road," Patterson said in a statement.

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(credit: Rocky Mountain National Park)

Flight For Life transported the man to University of Colorado Hospital.

More than 15 people were involved in the rescue operation.

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