DENVER (KDVR) -- A Colorado Army National Guard helicopter, a team of volunteers and Pitkin County deputies rescued two out-of-state 19-year-old hikers from a challenging Colorado mountain peak Wednesday morning after they got stuck overnight.

The hikers, both from North Carolina, were on Capitol Peak, a 14,130-foot mountain in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area near Aspen that the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative calls "one of the most difficult and demanding" of Colorado's highest peaks. Pitkin County dispatch received a 911 call from one of the hikers at about 8:20 p.m. Tuesday, saying they were on the north face of the mountain and had gotten stuck at around 13,000 feet after seeking a shorter route for their descent from the summit, according to a Pitkin County Sheriff's Office press release.

Capitol Peak is a difficult climb, the sheriff's office said, with numerous exposures and loose, crumbling rock. Climbing website 14ers.com rates it at a difficulty level of 4 out of 5, and the sheriff's office said five people died on the mountain in 2017 alone.

After getting the 911 call, Mountain Rescue Aspen crew members and sheriff's deputies started working on a rescue plan. The hikers were not injured, and rescuers told them to stay put until they could get there, which would not be until early the next morning.

The rescue mission

The rescue mission began at around 6 a.m. Wednesday, nearly 12 hours after the 911 call, when a Blackhawk helicopter from the Colorado Army National Guard High-Altitude Aviation Training Site landed in Aspen to pick up Mountain Rescue Aspen hoist-rescue technicians.

The helicopter was delayed because of a snow shower and lightning in the area, but the helicopter was soon able to locate the hikers. That was despite the fact that the hikers were in all black and gray clothing.

The helicopter hovered at around 13,000 feet, and the Mountain Rescue Aspen worked to hoist the hikers up one at a time. Once safely rescued, the hikers were cleared medically in Aspen before being released.

In total, 13 members of the all-volunteer organization Mountain Rescue Aspen, as well as deputies from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, medical personnel from Aspen Ambulance and personnel from the Colorado Army National Guard participated in the rescue, the sheriff's office said.

The rescue group and the sheriff's office issued a stark warning for hikers on Capitol Peak as the busy summer season ramps up. Already, rescue groups near Telluride and in Lake County have had busy weekends with multiple rescue missions.

"Capitol Peak is not a 'walk up' peak; it is a technical climb," rescuers said. "Climbers need to carry proper gear, which includes food, water, a helmet, a communication device, and bright-colored, warm clothing. Climbers should be prepared for changing weather conditions."