A Colorado backcountry rescue organization has seen a significant increase in SOS calls this year.
is reporting 10 to15% more calls than it gets in a typical year. It鈥檚 had at least 75 so far in 2025.
Get top headlines and KUNC reporting directly to your mailbox each week when you subscribe to In The NoCo.
Mission Coordinator Ben Butler said while the weather is warming up at lower elevations, winter gear is still needed in remote mountain areas. Snow won't melt fully there until mid-summer.
Butler also urges people to keep personal flotation devices and warm clothing on hand if they're headed to rivers and streams as spring runoff makes water recreation more risky.
鈥淛ust a very shallow river can be really dangerous and could sweep folks away," Butler told KUNC. "The water this time of year can be really cold and it could be a big shock to the system.鈥�
The Summit County Rescue Group was incorporated as the sixth mountain rescue team in Colorado in the 1970s. It is an all-volunteer nonprofit group that operates under the Summit County Sheriff's Office.
The group's services are free, but Butler encourages for assistance first.
