A man left behind by his office coworkers to finish his final ascent to the summit of a Colorado mountain became disoriented and suffered multiple falls during a night of freezing rain and high winds. Chaffee County Search and Rescue officials reported on social media that they received a call Friday night about an overdue hiker on Mount Shavano. The mountain, standing at an elevation of 14,231 feet, is located approximately 153 miles southwest of Denver.
The group of 15 hikers, which included the man, began their trek at sunrise on Friday as part of an office retreat, with several members intending to reach the summit. As the hiker neared the final ascent alone, trouble began. He reached the summit around 11:30 a.m. and became disoriented when he started his descent, finding that the belongings left in a boulder field to mark the descent route had been moved. Entering a scree field, an unstable slope of loose rock and debris, the hiker texted his coworkers, who informed him he had gone off course and instructed him to climb back up to find the correct trail.
By nearly 4 p.m., he messaged that he was close to the trail, but then a powerful storm rolled in, bringing freezing rain and high winds, further disorienting him and causing a loss of cellphone service. A call came to the search and rescue team at 9 p.m., prompting immediate action. Teams scoured the mountain through the night but were hindered by the perilous storm conditions. A search helicopter also was unable to locate the hiker overnight.
On Saturday morning, as rescuers from nearly a dozen agencies initiated a large-scale search, the missing hiker managed to call 911, enabling crews to locate him in a gully. The man recounted to rescuers that he had fallen at least 20 times on the steep slopes during the storm and, after the final fall, was unable to get back up.
After being extracted from the gully, stabilized, and evaluated, the hiker was transported to a hospital for further care. His identity and the full extent of his injuries were not disclosed.
“This hiker was phenomenally lucky to have regained cell service when he did, and to still have enough consciousness and wherewithal to call 911,” search and rescue officials stated. “Though he was located in a tertiary search area, it would have been some time before teams made it to that location on their own.”
