Threads related to Colorado mountaineering accidents but please keep it civil and respectful. Friends and relatives of fallen climbers will be reading these posts.
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Please be respectful when posting - family and friends of fallen climbers might be reading this forum.
justiner wrote: ↑Wed Jul 01, 2026 11:11 am
Having done the west ridge direct, I do think there are some pretty loose blocks that are not to be yarded on at the cruxes. Unfortunately, the rock just isn't great in the area.
That's quite scary. I have done Little Bear twice, both times via West Ridge Direct. I was thinking of trying WRI this past weekend but did Harvard-Columbia instead.
Where on WRD did you feel the rock was loose? I certainly felt that way at the very end (I actually merged with the Hourglass climbers coming up on my right at the end) but I remember being on "The Fin" and "The Chimney" and being very happy that the rock there felt solid, as a breaking hold there would be fatal.
Love and Prayers to our fallen brother or sister and their loved ones; it could have been any one of us; seems just like terrible luck.
So wish the outcome could have been different and the fallen person could have survived, but much love and respect to AVSAR and all the others that helped- y'all are appreciated to the penultimate level.
Very sorry to hear this, that's tragic. Little Bear is and always will be dangerous mountain by any route. If the actual climbing was being done in 60mph winds, that's something that even I wouldn't do.
I suspect this was likely just below the crux where you first gain the ridge, as there is some loose stuff there - for the crux itself I would be surprised if something came off there, but it all comes down to where exactly someone might try to grab if trying to avoid a move they don't feel confident about.
Condolences to friends and loved ones. I plan to be up on this route again soon and will reasses but I think it comes down to, this mountain is dangerous by any route - you just trade which type of danger you face.
(PS, I'm out of country right now in an... unusual... spot on the other side of the world where Bill's scripts might block me... so if I don't respond to inquiries, that's why)
60 mph+ winds on a class 4 ridge or the traverse is madness.
I did the hour glass twice, 1 down, 1 traverse and enjoyed it a lot. The traverse was my all time favorite route. Got through the hour glass rock fall high danger area quickly. I did experience rock fall with climbers coming down, but was able to wait safely until they passed, and I waited until they made it down.
I wonder how hard the wind was blowing through the hour glass route that day ? 60 mph winds would be rough on the hour glass route..
So very sorry to hear the sad news. Praying for strength for the family and loved ones.
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3: 13-14
daway8 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 01, 2026 8:28 pm
Very sorry to hear this, that's tragic. Little Bear is and always will be dangerous mountain by any route. If the actual climbing was being done in 60mph winds, that's something that even I wouldn't do.
I suspect this was likely just below the crux where you first gain the ridge, as there is some loose stuff there - for the crux itself I would be surprised if something came off there, but it all comes down to where exactly someone might try to grab if trying to avoid a move they don't feel confident about.
Condolences to friends and loved ones. I plan to be up on this route again soon and will reasses but I think it comes down to, this mountain is dangerous by any route - you just trade which type of danger you face.
(PS, I'm out of country right now in an... unusual... spot on the other side of the world where Bill's scripts might block me... so if I don't respond to inquiries, that's why)
I was thinking the same thing. From what I remember the crux section on the ridge seemed really solid. I’ve only been up there once. This one is weighing heavy on my mind. That’s a terrible scenario we could all find ourselves in.
RIP
Very sorry to hear about this. Condolences to the climber's friends and family.
What Justiner says about the loose rock is true and will be an issue for a while, since this route up the mountain just hasn't seen the foot traffic that the
Hourglass route has seen and just by design might have more loose rock in certain sections. What concerns me is how that loose rock will come down, hopefully not with others on the route.
I've only been on LB three times, summiting once due to what I considered poor conditions higher up the first two times. The Hourglass route while sketchy
as we all know while in its namesake gully, doesn't have those same very exposed sections as the WRI option. I haven't been up the WRI - for those who have been up there, wonder if doing that one in snow would be better (?) though while it might help with some losse rock, guess won't change that exposure.
Exposure with real air underneath hits different people different ways; what is exciting and invigorating to some, will be terrifying to others and is less forgiving.
I know many folks like this route better, but given the option to climb that peak again, I'd still choose the standard route, in the right snow conditions.
This is always very sad to think of the loss and who the climber leaves behind.
RIP
nyker wrote: ↑Thu Jul 02, 2026 9:21 pm
I haven't been up the WRI - for those who have been up there, wonder if doing that one in snow would be better (?) though while it might help with some losse rock, guess won't change that exposure.
No, snow doesn't help the West Ridge Indirect route like it can sometimes if the Hourglass is filled in just right and you're comfortable on steep snow with possible ice around. Rather it would amplify the danger of the increased exposure on WRI.
Though from the time that I did West Ridge Direct in February (which extends the time on the ridge vs WRI and adds some class 5) I found the ridge to be mostly dry thanks to wind and sun so the route wasn't significantly harder than in summer. If it was snow loaded it would be a different story.
I don't have a lot of optimism that this route will clean up, just as I don't the Hourglass, or the SW Ridge for that matter. Chossy rock is just chossy rock -- the freeze-thaw cycles every year will see to that. Some rock is better than others, but even routes 'round here that have seen decades of climbing are slowly falling apart,
any feature that has a crack or a flake will one day crack of flake off. Sometimes it's the entire mountainside -- even the most awe-inspiring granite faces are exfoliating off,
I'm a little surprised that we don't hear about more accidents on the traverse, but it may be the actually climbing on the traverse is quite low. The crux I feel is descending down from little bear on slabby blocks and then a hand traverse on incut holds. Much of the rest is catwalks and the odd choss tower to negotiate around. Maybe it's because self-selection is happening as well, or it's just a numbers game.
It may be that a stronger guiding culture needs to be cultivated on LB as these mountains get ever more popular, as is more common on Capitol, the Bells, Longs.
Last edited by justiner on Fri Jul 03, 2026 11:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
justiner wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2026 1:22 am
I don't have a lot of optimism that this route will clean up, just as I don't the Hourglass, or the SW Ridge for that matter. Chossy rock is just chossy rock -- the freeze-thaw cycles every year will see to that. Some rock is better than others, but even routes 'round here that have seen decades of climbing are slowly falling apart,
any feature that has a crack or a flake will one day crack of flake off. Sometimes it's the entire mountainside -- even the most awe-inspiring granite faces are exfoliating off,
I'm a little surprised that we don't here about more accidents on the traverse, but it may be the actually climbing on the traverse is quite low. The crux I feel is descending down from little bear on slabby blocks and then a hand traverse on incut holds. Much of the rest is catwalks and the odd choss tower to negotiate around. Maybe it's because self-selection is happening as well, or it's just a numbers game.
It may be that a stronger guiding culture needs to be cultivated on LB as these mountains get ever more popular, as is more common on Capitol, the Bells, Longs.
i dont think any guiding companies would have the appetite to sell that climb unless it was on snow
I can't find any reference of guiding being offered for LB currently, but I feel there used to be. But bandit guiding happens there -- who do you think keeps replacing the rope in the Hourglass?
justiner wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2026 11:26 am
I can't find any reference of guiding being offered for LB currently, but I feel there used to be. But bandit guiding happens there -- who do you think keeps replacing the rope in the Hourglass?
i dont think any guiding outfit put ropes there, just the community or maybe a club like CMC. feels like if you were guiding little bear youd short rope your client rather than rely on the tat in the hourglass. in either case it reminds me of the himalayas where they just leave trash ropes there for years
I turned around on that route about twenty years ago for that reason: loose rocks. Spencer Swanger led the group (maybe five of us?), so it might have been a CMC hike. That was his favored route, but on that day, the ice was thawing and rocks were popping out beneath our feet, so he called it. This was in the springtime and must have been around 2006, because I came back in 2007 and did the Hourglass instead, in snow. I agree with whoever said there's no safe route on that peak. Even doing the Hourglass in crampons and ice axes in May, we dealt with some rockfall.
So sorry to hear about this climber. Sorry for his friends, too. What a horrible experience for anyone.
