Mesa County Search and Rescue Successfully Rescued a Climber Using COTAK's Uncrewed Aerial Systems Integration

Story courtesy of Mesa County Search and Rescue 

On Saturday, Sept 20, at approximately 8:00 PM, Mesa County Search and Rescue was paged for a subject who became cliffed out while on Mt. Garfield. The subject reported no injuries but was unable to safely descend on their own. 

Team members and a UAV were deployed. With new technology, the drone broadcast a live video feed to all team members through COTAK (a navigation & situational awareness app), giving them real-time visuals of the subject’s position and the surrounding terrain. The subject was located just below a 20–30 foot vertical rock face on steep, unstable terrain. Due to significant rockfall risks and poor anchor options, a top-down rescue was deemed hazardous.

A bottom-up approach was initiated and contact with the subject was made at approximately 12:00 AM. The subject was given a harness and helmet and carefully guided to safety using a combination of short roping & short pitching. This approach provided the added protection of a rope belay while navigating the terrain. All team members and the subject safely exited the field by 1:00 AM.