Hiker dies after 300-foot fall from ridge above lake in Colorado forest, rescuers say
.jpeg "A hiker died after falling 300 feet from a ridge in a Colorado national forest, rescuers say.")
A hiker died after falling 300 feet from a ridge in a Colorado national forest, rescuers say.
After the fall, the man was left stranded on “some rocks in a cliff band” above a lake just west of St. Mary’s Glacier on Thursday, June 13, Jake Smith, a spokesperson for Alpine Rescue Team, said in a phone interview with McClatchy News.
A bystander at the lake called 911 around 2:20 p.m., Smith said.
“The lake was pretty popular that day,” Smith said. “There were a lot of folks up there.”
With limited information, Smith said 25 members made their way toward the stranded hiker.
However, while en route, Smith said they learned the man “had taken a substantial fall,” leaving him unresponsive.
As such, Smith said they contacted Flight For Life Colorado, as they worried the man had critical injuries.
While a helicopter landed above the lake, Smith said rescuers trekked up to where the man had fallen, “about halfway down the slope into a cliff band area.”
After reaching the man, rescuers determined he had died, Smith said. The man’s identity has not been released.
Rescuers shifted their focus to a recovery operation and, after getting the go-ahead from the coroner, lowered the hiker “down about 300 feet to the ground,” Smith said.
The recovery operation took about four hours, according to Smith.
St. Mary’s Glacier, about a 45-mile drive northwest from Denver, is technically not a glacier, but rather a “semi-permanent snowfield,” according to 5280 Magazine.
Located in Arapaho National Forest, the 1.5-mile trail, which takes just under two hours to complete, “begins at 10,428 feet in elevation with a short gain to 10,848 feet at the base of the glacier, however the top of the glacier is 11,236 feet in elevation,” according to Clear Creek County’s website.
This story was originally published June 14, 2024 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Hiker dies after 300-foot fall from ridge above lake in Colorado forest, rescuers say."
