This pair of reports from Rocky Mountain NP are a thoughtful bookend to this incident. Signalling of some sort (cell phone, mirror, or whatever) is really necessary.

Obviously, a fairly busy day at the park...

Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Body Found On Longs Peak

Early on the morning of Friday, July 25th, a man climbing the Keyhole Route on Longs Peak called the park and notified rangers that he and other members of his climbing group had seen a man’s body below The Ledges. Rangers reached the location just after 10 a.m. and confirmed that the man was dead.

The incident is under investigation, but foul play is not suspected. A Forest Service helicopter assisted with recovery efforts. The man’s body was flown to the helipad at Upper Beaver Meadows and was transferred to the Boulder County coroner's office.

[Submitted by Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]

Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Seriously Injured Man Rescued From Backcountry

On the afternoon of July 25th, the park received a cell phone call from a 31-year-old man who reported that he’d fallen an unknown distance while glissading down Gabletop Mountain and had sustained numerous injuries.

The Forest Service helicopter employed earlier in the day for a body recovery from Longs Peak was utilized for aerial reconnaissance. Using cell phone GPS coordinates, rangers were able to determine his general location below Gabletop Mountain; the helicopter’s crew provided his exact location.

A rescue operation was begun. Four rangers and rescue equipment were flown to Loomis Lake between severe thunderstorms. They then hiked to his location, a steep cirque above the lake at an altitude of around 11,300 feet, arriving just after midnight. The injured man greatly aided in his rescue by moving down a steep band of rock, then down a steep snow field toward the rangers.

The rangers found that the man was ambulatory, but that he was suffering from life-threatening injuries. They lowered him 500 feet with ropes and then assisted him an additional 700 feet down steep mountainous terrain to Loomis Lake. A paramedic on the park's rescue team provided advanced life support throughout the incident.

The man was flown to Beaver Meadows Road, then taken by a Flight for Life helicopter to St. Anthony's Hospital for further treatment.

Park rescue team members feel this was truly a life-saving mission. The man was fortunate to have cell phone coverage in this remote location, which has very limited coverage.

[Submitted by Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]