Climber rescued in Rocky Mountain National Park after being struck by falling rock

Jacy Marmaduke
The Coloradoan
Rescue crews landed at Chasm Meadow after a climber was injured on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017.

A Colorado National Guard helicopter hoisted a critically injured woman from a mountainside in a dramatic rescue at Rocky Mountain National Park on Sunday.

Megan Kies, 31, was climbing the Martha's Couloir route on Mount Lady Washington about 11 a.m. when she was struck by a rock dislodged from above, according to an RMNP press release.

Kies’ climbing partner, two other climbers and a bystander in the area helped the Lafayette woman, who was roped in at the time of the incident but suffered life-threatening injuries. 

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Rescuers, including RMNP's Search and Rescue Team, placed Kies in a litter and lowered her about 240 feet to the base of the climb, then another 100 feet to a scree slope above Chasm Lake.

A Colorado National Guard helicopter extricated Kies using a winch-operated cable about 5:30 p.m. and a Flight for Life air ambulance flew Kies from Chasm Meadow to St. Anthony's Hospital in Lakewood.

Kies was stable in fair condition at St. Anthony's as of Friday morning.

Martha's Couloir is a popular mixed rock, snow and ice climb in the Chasm Cirque.