Base Jumper Injured Near Mount Evans

CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) -- Medical helicopters from Denver and Summit County ferried rescue teams to Mount Evans this morning after a female base jumper's parachute did not fully open.

Steve Wilson of Alpine Rescue Team told CBS4 the base jumper landed somewhere below the face of the "Black Wall." The feature is a sheer face of rock at the western end of the cirque containing Upper Chicago Lake.

Wilson told CBS4 more than two dozen ART team members responded.

At 1 p.m., Copter4 found rescuers carrying the woman in a litter down to an area where she could be loaded into a helicopter.

Radio traffic indicated rescuers loaded onto helicopters at the Idaho Springs High School football field and landed near Summit Lake below Mount Evans.

The operation concluded around 2:30 p.m.

Late Sunday afternoon, an Alpine Rescue Team spokesperson said the woman struck the cliff face during her descent because the parachute did not open properly and suffered "major" but apparently non-life threatening injuries.

Base jumping is a recreational sport in which parachutists leap from high ledges to experience seconds of free fall prior to parachuting to safety. Base is an acronym for buildings, antennae, spans (bridges) or earth (cliffs). More recent developments of the sports including the use of wingsuits.