A search for a missing climber in Colorado ended with a risky overnight recovery high on Maroon Peak. Authorities say the hiker, who has not been publicly identified, was found dead on Sept. 3 in steep, technical terrain around 13,200 feet in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness near Aspen, People reports. Notes in the climber's rental car indicated plans to scale the Maroon Bells, prompting an aerial search that located the body.
To safely retrieve the body, officials closed Maroon Peak on Sept. 8 and launched a complex operation involving Mountain Rescue Aspen, Flight for Life Colorado, and a long-line helicopter flown in from Salt Lake City. The hiker's body was recovered by midmorning. In a joint statement, rescuers urged backcountry climbers to "leave a detailed itinerary with a trusted person before departing, including the intended route, expected return time, and contingency plans." Travelers should also carry proper gear and satellite communication devices, rescuers said.
In a separate incident, a climber died on the north face of nearby Castle Peak on Sunday, Outside reports. Climber Rebecca Rees says she heard a sound like a rockfall and "saw this gentleman tumbling down the mountain. It was horrifying because it was not a fall that would be survivable." She says the man initially fell 30 feet, then hundreds more. Mountain Rescue Aspen says a team reached the climber that afternoon "and determined the individual had sustained injuries that were not survivable. Team members then carefully evacuated the climber from the mountain using a technical lowering system."
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