Two Climbers Get a Ride Down From Longs Peak

When Plans Change

Two men, 47 and 50, called for help late Friday night from around 14,000 feet on Kiener's Route. They told park rangers they were stuck, couldn't keep going, and hadn't packed for an overnight. Rangers kept the line open and talked to them through the night while figuring out how to get them down.

By Saturday morning, February 7, search and rescue teams from Rocky Mountain National Park and Larimer County were already heading up on foot. That's usually how these things start.

The Wind Had Other Ideas

A U.S. Forest Service helicopter tried to get up there. Wind said no. Flight for Life got called in. Same answer. When you're dealing with 14,000 feet and February weather, the mountain gets a vote.

So they called Buckley Space Force Base down in Aurora. The Colorado National Guard sent up a Chinook helicopter with a crew and rescuers from Alpine Rescue and Rocky Mountain Rescue. Those folks showed up, landed on the summit around 2:15 in the afternoon, and found the two climbers had made it to the top on their own. Then they flew them down to Upper Beaver Meadows Road.

About That Mountain

Longs Peak sits at 14,259 feet. It's the only fourteener in Rocky Mountain National Park and the tallest thing around here. More than 70 people have died on it since 1915, which gives you some idea of what you're dealing with.

Adam Aldridge at the Estes Park Mountain Shop has been up there 19 times. He'll tell you Longs is a real mountaineer's mountain, especially in winter. You need crampons, ice axes, the right gear, and a plan for when conditions turn. Because they will.

Some people make a habit of it. Lisa Foster has summited more than 250 times and has gone up every month for over 60 months straight. That takes a certain kind of commitment.

The Usual Reminder

Park rangers want people to know that winter up high doesn't care if the snowpack down low is light this year. Ice, wind, subzero temps, all of it can show up without much warning. Plan for it or don't go.

The search and rescue teams here are good at what they do. When someone needs help, they go get them. These two climbers got into a spot, called for help, and the system worked. That's about as much as you can ask for on a February Saturday at 14,000 feet.