Office retreat gone wrong: Man left on Colorado summit overnight by coworkers

DENVER (KDVR) — There could be some awkward conversations around one water cooler after a group of 15 hikers on an office work retreat ended up separated from one hiker, who weathered a night in the mountains and sustained injuries as a result.

It all began for rescue workers at about 9 p.m. on Friday. Chaffee County Search and Rescue South was notified of an overdue hiker, wearing all black, on the Mount Shavano standard route. The rescue workers were told a group of 15 hikers on a work retreat left the Blanks Cabin Trailhead at sunrise on Friday, and split up.

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One group was completing summit attempts and a second group was ascending to the saddle, then returning from there. However, one hiker was left to complete his final summit push alone.

He reached the summit at about 11:30 a.m., according to the Chaffee County SAR, but became disoriented when he went to descend the mountain. When he looked for items left in the boulder field to mark the descending path, the path markers were gone: The previous group had picked up the items on their way down.

The hiker attempted to descend, according to the Chaffee County agency, but found himself in the steep boulder and scree field on the northeast slopes, toward Shavano Lake.

“Concerned for himself, he sent a pin drop to co-workers already descending,” the Chaffee County SAR South said. “These co-workers informed him his route was wrong and to climb back up the slope to regain the trail.”

At about 3:50 p.m., the hiker had nearly regained the ridge between Shavano and Tabeguache and sent another pin drop to his group that he was near the trail. Shortly after sending that message, the SAR group said the hiker was assaulted by a strong storm with freezing rain and high winds, causing him to become disoriented again and also leading to him losing cell service.

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About five hours later, at 9 p.m., the search and rescue teams were told the hiker hadn’t returned. A drone pilot and two teams on foot were sent into the field from the Blanks Cabin Trailhead, finding the last known point the hiker had been on the ridge between Shavano and Tabeguache. Teams focused on clearing the standing route and the Shavano Lake drainage.

Search teams battled high winds and freezing rains, making reaching the summit unsafe and preventing the drone operator from flying.

The aerial search was bolstered by a helicopter, but despite flying several search patterns throughout the area, pilots did not find artificial light apart from search teams anywhere on the mountain. The teams on foot remained in the field until 9 a.m. Saturday with no trace of the missing man.

A second search operation was organized for 10 a.m. Saturday, and as teams began to enter the field, the hiker regained enough cell service to call 911.

He was located above the North Fork drainage in the gully below Espirit Point. He told rescue workers he was very disoriented on his descent, falling at least 20 times while working his way toward the North Fork. However, on his last fall, the hiker was unable to get back up.

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Rescue workers were able to extract the hiker safely. His health was stabilized before he was transported to a hospital for further care, according to Chaffee County SAR.

“This hiker was phenomenally lucky to have regained cell service when he did, and to still have enough consciousness and wherewithal to call 911. 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,” Chaffee County Search and Rescue South said.

The agency reminded hikers to always hike with a partner, pack bright clothing and remember to pack the 10 essentials for the trail.

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