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Summit County road reopens after paragliding crash and rescue

A Summit County Rescue Group team escorts an injured paraglider down the hillside near Swan Mountain Road in unincorporated Summit County, Dec. 31, 2019.
Courtesy of Summit County Rescue Group

FRISCO — Summit County Rescue Group volunteers and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office special operations unit rescued a 40-year-old Summit County man after he crashed Tuesday near Lake Dillon while paragliding.

Summit County Rescue Group spokesperson Charles Pitman said the team was notified about the paragliding accident at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“A paraglider that had launched from Sapphire Point had crashed into the trees between Swan Mountain Road and Lake Dillon,” Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said.



The man then fell to the ground, Pitman said. Summit County Rescue Group sent two teams, one of which hiked down from the top of Swan Mountain and another that hiked in from the lake.

The man was found about 100 feet from the lake, Pitman said, and crews used snowmobiles and an Orion sled to reach him. The rescuers then used snowmobiles to transport the man across the lake to a waiting ambulance, which brought him to St. Anthony Summit Medical Center.



“It was interesting getting to him because we were not sure if the lake was actually frozen or not,” Pitman said.

The man’s injuries are considered moderate but not life-threatening, Pitman said.

During the rescue, Swan Mountain Road, which connects Keystone and Dillon to Breckenridge, was closed in both directions near Sapphire Point.


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