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Aspen rescuers retrieve bicyclist after fall into river

Aspen Times Staff Report
Aspen, CO Colorado

ASPEN, Colorado – Rescuers were summoned to help a 73-year-old bicyclist Saturday after he got stuck in mud left from a slide on the Rio Grande Trail, then fell down a steep hill into the Roaring Fork River.

The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a bicyclist in trouble shortly before 2 p.m. The man had ridden into a closed section of the trail and became stuck in about a foot of mud. With the help of others, he was freed from the mud, but then fell off the trail and tumbled down to the river.

The trail, between Cemetery Lane in Aspen and W/J Ranch above Woody Creek, was closed Friday after a huge mudslide at Stein Falls. The sheriff’s office announced Saturday morning that the trail section would be closed until further notice.



The bicyclist, whose name was not released by authorities, was helped back onto shore by two kayakers. He was complaining of a hip injury.

Twelve members of Mountain Rescue Aspen, along with two sheriff’s deputies, three county Open Space and Trails rangers and the city’s parks and trails ranger all helped get the patient back to Stein Park near the bottom of Cemetery Lane. He was taken by ambulance to Aspen Valley Hospital.


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