By Kyle Patterson, RMNPSpokesperson

Special to the Estes Park Trail-Gazette

A Seattle, Wash., woman was the second person (climber) to be airlifted out of Rocky Mountain National Park over a three-day period. Casey Plank, 25, was injured Saturday morning, Aug. 11, following a fall on the Park’s west side.

Plank was seriously hurt while bouldering alone about two miles up the East Inlet Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. She initially fell 10 to 15 feet and rolled another 20 to 25 feet along loose talus rock and scree. Fortunately, a hiker along the trail heard her fall and called for help via a cell phone. The woman suffered numerous serious injuries and contusions.

A number of Park staff with assistance from Grand County Search and Rescue performed a low angle rescue and evacuation over the difficult terrain. The carry-out took over three hours. The victim was flown to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Denver by Flight for Life.

This rescue came on the heels of the Aug. 8 climbing accident in the rugged Batman Pinnacle and Batman Rock area of Lumpy Ridge just outside of Estes Park. That accident involved a 36-year-old climber from Boston, Mass. who was seriously injured when a number of rocks fell, injuring his right leg.

Following a six-hour carry-out the man was flown to the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland by a Flight for Life helicopter based out of St. Anthony’s