Tour Divide cyclist rescued from Glacier floodwaters
A cyclist rides past Upper Whitefish Lake while following the Great Divide mountain bike route in this 2016 file photo. (Matt Baldwin/Whitefish Pilot FILE)
An international search and rescue effort was able to locate a lost and injured cyclist in the North Fork area of Glacier National Park Tuesday.
At approximately 12:36 p.m, Glacier National Park dispatch was notified that a 25-year-old male bicyclist had activated his GPS tracking device to signal for help in the North Fork area of the park. Alex Minge of Riverton, Wyoming was participating in the Tour Divide 2022 bike-packing race that spans from Canada to New Mexico when he wrecked his bicycle, lost his way and encountered floodwaters in the Kishenehn Drainage.
A response by U.S. Border Patrol, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Fernie Search and Rescue out of British Columbia and Park Rangers were unable to reach the suspected location of the tracking device due to flood conditions.
A Minuteman Aviation helicopter from Missoula picked up park rangers near park headquarters in West Glacier and flew to the Kishenehn Drainage, where rangers found and rescued the injured bicyclist. The cyclist was transported by Three Rivers Ambulance to the hospital.
Park dispatch received notification from the GPS monitoring company via Flathead County dispatch.