A climber fell to his death from one of Colorado’s towering 14,000-foot mountains as horrified witnesses scrambled toward him and rescue crews launched a difficult hours-long recovery mission.
The deadly fall happened Sunday, Sept. 6, on the north face of Castle Peak, a 14,272-foot mountain in Colorado’s rugged Elk Mountains south of Aspen.
The Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office was alerted to the fallen climber early Sunday afternoon and requested help from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office at about 12:41 p.m. because of the remote location.
Witnesses who saw the man fall immediately rushed toward him and called for help.
Rebecca Rees, who witnessed the tragedy, later described the scene as devastating.
“It has been an extremely sad and terrible afternoon for all involved. He did not survive,” Rees said.
Rees said she and others made their way toward the injured climber because they did not want him to be alone during his final moments.
One bystander, identified only as Robert, reportedly scrambled toward the fallen man almost immediately after the accident, despite the dangerous terrain and the possibility that he could put himself at risk.
A massive rescue effort was quickly launched.
Mountain Rescue Aspen sent crews toward the mountain using off-highway vehicles to reach the upper Montezuma parking lot, while a Flight for Life helicopter searched for the climber from the air.
After locating him, the helicopter returned to Aspen to transport additional rescue personnel into the area.
Despite the steep terrain and difficult conditions, rescuers reached the climber at approximately 3:58 p.m.
By then, there was nothing they could do.
Officials determined that the man had suffered injuries that were “not survivable.”
Rees praised rescuers for putting themselves in danger to reach the climber, saying crews managed to get to roughly the 13,000-foot level in around two hours.
The mission then shifted from a rescue to a difficult recovery operation.
Crews used a technical lowering system to carefully bring the climber down the mountainside. A total of 21 Mountain Rescue Aspen members took part in the operation, and all rescuers were out of the field by 8:14 p.m.
The climber’s identity has not been publicly released.
Castle Peak is one of Colorado’s famous “fourteeners,” mountains that rise more than 14,000 feet above sea level. At approximately 14,273 feet, it is the ninth-highest mountain in Colorado.
The tragedy came just three days after another climber died in the nearby Maroon Bells area, highlighting the dangers of Colorado’s Elk Mountains even for experienced hikers and climbers.
Mountain Rescue Aspen and the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office urged anyone heading into the backcountry to prepare carefully, understand their route and conditions, and recognize the limits of their own experience and abilities.
