Office retreat gone wrong: Co-workers leave man on Colorado mountain overnight
DENVER (KDVR) — This year's performance review is going to be awkward.
Fifteen hikers on an office work retreat in Colorado's San Isabel National Forest left one man behind, who went on to survive a night on a mountain while injured.
At about 9 p.m. Friday, Chaffee County Search and Rescue South was notified of an overdue hiker, wearing all black, on Mount Shavano's standard route in the forest. The rescue workers learned that the group left the Blanks Cabin Trailhead at sunrise Friday and then split up.
One group was trying to reach the summit of the mountain and a second group was ascending to the saddle, then descending.
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, they were gone: The previous group had picked up the path markers on their way down.
The hiker tried to descend, according to the Chaffee County agency, but found himself in the steep boulder and scree field on the northeast slopes.
"Concerned for himself, he sent a pin drop to (his) co-workers already descending," the Chaffee County SAR South said. The co-workers told him the route down was wrong and to climb back up to find the trail.
At about 3:50 p.m., the hiker sent another pin drop to his group, saying he was near the trail. Shortly after sending that message, the hiker was hit by a strong storm with freezing rain and high winds, causing him to become disoriented again, said the SAR group, adding that he also lost cell service.
At 9 p.m., the search and rescue teams were told the hiker hadn't returned. A drone pilot and two teams left from the Blanks Cabin Trailhead, finding the last known point where the hiker had been on the ridge.
The teams battled the same high winds and freezing rain, making an attempt to reach the summit unsafe and preventing the drone operator from flying.
The aerial search was also bolstered by a helicopter, but despite flying several search patterns throughout the area, the pilots did not find any light on the mountain other than from the search teams. The teams remained 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 search, the hiker regained enough cell service to call 911.
He told rescue workers he was in a different area than where they had searched and that he had been disoriented on his descent and had fallen at least 20 times. After his last fall, he was unable to get back up.
Rescue workers were able to rescue the man, who was stabilized before being transported to a hospital, 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, some of which include food and water, first-aid supplies, warm clothing and a lighting source.