Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

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SpringsHiker
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Re: Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

Post by SpringsHiker »

Condolences to the families involved and prayers for peace for the pain of the loss. This never gets easier to hear about and each hiker/climber that does not come home is always a painful loss for this community.
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Cool Hand Luke
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Re: Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

Post by Cool Hand Luke »

Two articles in the papers today. My thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased climber, wishing the survivor a fast and full recovery.

http://www.aspentimes.com/news/13356994 ... orth-aspen

http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/164191
onebyone
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Re: Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

Post by onebyone »

After reading the articles just posted, I can easily see this happening, especially late in the season. I'm sure if they ran into people ascending North Maroon, they probably could have gotten some beta on the route. When I did the traverse 20 years ago, I went from North to South mostly because the descent from South was less complicated. Also, there is usually snow in this couloir well into July which would scare most people off from descending the Bell Chord. My condolences to the family. Lots to learn from this accident for sure.
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TallGrass
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Re: Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

Post by TallGrass »

onebyone wrote:After reading the articles just posted, I can easily see this happening, especially late in the season.
The article doesn't say what part of each, so I wouldn't assume it was a standard route. I can imagine them descending the standard route via cairns, then getting off route with one going to the Bell Cord gulley from high, the other traversing above Rock Glacier, perhaps from the "precipice" area. If no snow, you can pick out parts of the trail descending and dead reckon to them reading the terrain, but can see doing it without beta from a person or a route guide getting dicey quick.

I'm sure I'm not the only here who wishes they could've been there to go "no, this way" or "follow me." :( Heading out I've given away my route guides before to those going up before because you never know what beta when could be pivotal. Feel for the families. :(
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Re: Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

Post by onebyone »

TallGrass wrote:
onebyone wrote:After reading the articles just posted, I can easily see this happening, especially late in the season.
The article doesn't say what part of each, so I wouldn't assume it was a standard route. I can imagine them descending the standard route via cairns, then getting off route with one going to the Bell Cord gulley from high, the other traversing above Rock Glacier, perhaps from the "precipice" area. If no snow, you can pick out parts of the trail descending and dead reckon to them reading the terrain, but can see doing it without beta from a person or a route guide getting dicey quick.

I'm sure I'm not the only here who wishes they could've been there to go "no, this way" or "follow me." :( Heading out I've given away my route guides before to those going up before because you never know what beta when could be pivotal. Feel for the families. :(
That's exactly what I'm saying. The article says that they summited South Maroon and did the traverse and successfully summited North Maroon. So yeah, most likely, they got off route descending N. Maroon, which would not be hard to do if you didn't come up that way. They took a selfie on N Maroon summit at 12:45.
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GeezerClimber
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Re: Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

Post by GeezerClimber »

This is a very sad story but not a unique one. Earlier this year, two women were rescued off N Maroon after a traverse and getting off route. There was a fatality with an identical scenario two or three years ago IIRC. Apparently finding one's way down N Maroon after a traverse is tricky.

Condolences to family and friends.

Dave
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shearmodulus
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Re: Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

Post by shearmodulus »

I think we're going to have an 'exciting' early season with all of this snow and wet weather we're getting. Heard today the EPCSAR down here in the Springs was sent out after a hiker on the Barr trail in the weather we got this afternoon (Rain/snow mix).

This is the time of year for crazy weather. Let's all be on our toes!
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Re: Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

Post by Tejonmax »

Here is an article from the Summit Daily about Wetherell. Sad story.

http://www.summitdaily.com/news/1335675 ... on-friends" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Last edited by Tejonmax on Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:15 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

Post by ajkagy »

shearmodulus wrote:I think we're going to have an 'exciting' early season with all of this snow and wet weather we're getting. Heard today the EPCSAR down here in the Springs was sent out after a hiker on the Barr trail in the weather we got this afternoon (Rain/snow mix).

This is the time of year for crazy weather. Let's all be on our toes!
doesn't seem "exciting" at all, it's been really dry and at least dry through all of next week as well. By this time last year and some of the years before we had some decent snow in the high mtns, but this year not really anything to write home about. It's going to be 61 here today above 9k feet, talk about an indian summer.
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shearmodulus
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Re: Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

Post by shearmodulus »

We've had about a foot of snow total above treeline in the Front Range in the last week. I climbed Ptarmigan last week and it had about 8 inches of fresh, wet, "spring-like" snow. I'm looking out my window at Pike's Peak right now and plotting going out tomorrow to check out the Y-Couloir area routes for ice formation. This year I finally ticked off August as my only remaining month that I had not actually been snowed on.

Winter forecast models are predicting a wetter than average winter for the area, and we've had a lot of volatility here in the Springs so far. I'm not sure what conditions are like down in CB versus here, but it's been my experience that one does not always equate to the other.

Either way, fall is the time that it can go from blue-bird T-shirt weather to hypothermia in an afternoon, and that tends to surprise a lot of people.
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shearmodulus
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Re: Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

Post by shearmodulus »

Oh, and I was up in the Vail/Eagle area on Monday and there was a lot of snow up there as well. At least 4 inches that persisted throughout the day.
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Re: Hikers Missing Since Wednesday

Post by wondering_hough »

RIP to the fallen hiker and a speedy recovery to the survivor.

Does anyone know the background of these two guys experience above tree line? The latest article posted on this thread made it seem as though this was the fallen's second hike of 2014.
You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.
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