Climber plunges length of over two football fields from 14er in Colorado, officials say
An “experienced” 21-year-old climber plunged 800 vertical feet — more than the length of two football fields — to his death from a treacherous mountain ridge in southwest Colorado, officials said.
Search and rescue teams searched for the overdue climber on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 23 and 24, the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
The teams found his body in the upper Kilpacker Basin of the El Diente traverse, an incredibly narrow and exposed ridge between Mt. Wilson and El Diente Peak about 20 miles southwest of Telluride, officials said. Photos show the dropoffs on both sides of the perilous ridge.
El Diente Peak has an elevation of 14,175 feet and is among the 58 Colorado 14ers, a term used to distinguish mountain peaks of at least 14,000 feet.
“I climbed this 3 years ago and lost the trail on the way down, ended up just fine but I can see how somebody could get cliffed out and fall there,” someone commented under one of the photos.
The Arizona man had been trying to navigate a tricky section of the traverse when he fell, officials said.
Several climbers commented about the danger of the route in the Colorado subreddit.
“I live in Telluride. The El Diente traverse is a pretty gnarly route,” one commenter said. “Super exposed and technical climbing.”
Someone shared information about the route with “detailed” photos of the narrow ridge. “See photo 26 for a sense of the ‘super exposed’ part,” they said.
Another person shared that they had a close call while traversing the ridge.
“I had a near death experience of someone in my party on this exact climb,” they said. “This area is no joke.”
Officials recovered the man’s remains and transferred them to the Dolores County Coroner and sheriff’s office on July 24. His identity has not been publicly disclosed as of July 26.
This story was originally published July 26, 2024 at 11:08 AM with the headline "Climber plunges length of over two football fields from 14er in Colorado, officials say."
