The climber was first reported missing on Wednesday, Sept. 2

Images of a helicopter with a hoist capability brought in from Utah for the recovery operation.Credit: Mountain Rescue Aspen
Images of a helicopter with a hoist capability brought in from Utah for the recovery operation.
Credit: Mountain Rescue Aspen

NEED TO KNOW

  • A missing hiker was found dead more than 13,000 feet up a mountain in Pitkin County, Colo., on Sept. 8
  • Officials were notified about the overdue climber six days earlier, but had to wait for a specialized helicopter for the recovery mission
  • Following the person’s death, authorities urged hikers to take precautions in the backcountry

The body of a missing hiker was found on a Colorado mountain. Rescue crews spent hours preparing for the complicated operation to retrieve the victim from an elevation of more than 13,000 feet. 

The search began on Wednesday, Sept. 2, when authorities were informed about an overdue climber believed to be in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness in Pitkin County, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office said in an alert. Originally, the hiker’s planned route was unknown. 

After officers began an investigation, they located information and notes in the person’s rental vehicle indicating they planned to climb the Maroon Bells—the two popular and often-photographed 14,000-foot peaks, Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak. 

By the morning of Thursday, Sept. 3, Mountain Rescue Aspen and CareFlight of the Rockies worked together to perform an aerial search of the Maroon Bells. That’s when “the climber was located deceased and tentatively identified in very technical and difficult terrain to access,” the sheriff’s office said. 

A helicopter airborne during the recoveryCredit: Mountain Rescue Aspen
A helicopter airborne during the recovery
Credit: Mountain Rescue Aspen

Officials notified the hiker’s family and planned the recovery operation for Tuesday, Sept. 8; the hiker has not been publicly identified. As part of the recovery effort, Maroon Peak was closed all day on Tuesday, from midnight to 11:59 p.m. local time, the U.S. Forest Service announced. 

Mountain Rescue Aspen (MRA) Chief Rescue Leader Jeff Edelson told The Aspen Times that rescue crews wanted to avoid closing the much-visited area during the Labor Day weekend and needed enough time to coordinate necessary air resources. 

The organization was preparing for a challenging recovery mission, which also required closing Maroon Peak.​

Maroon Peak, which stands at 13,200 feet tallCredit: Mountain Rescue Aspen
Maroon Peak, which stands at 13,200 feet tall
Credit: Mountain Rescue Aspen

“There’s significant fall and rockfall hazard in that area, which is why we need to close so that they can do it safely,” Edelson told the Times. The mission began shortly after midnight on Tuesday, as crews worked to reach and secure the area, MRA said in a statement. At dawn, Flight for Life Colorado inserted three MRA technical climbers on the south rim of the mountain, who then spent an hour climbing to reach an area on the peak 1,000 feet above the victim. 

From there, the rescue team rappelled down to the deceased climber. A helicopter capable of a long-line extrication was brought in from Salt Lake City to extract the hiker from the site to T Lazy 7 Ranch, where the local coroner was located. By Tuesday at 9:45 a.m. local time, the victim was “recovered from steep, unstable terrain at an elevation of approximately 13,200 feet,” MRA said. Flight for Life Colorado then brought the three rescue climbers down from the mountain. 

A rescue helicopter flying over the Colorado mountainsCredit: Mountain Rescue Aspen
A rescue helicopter flying over the Colorado mountains
Credit: Mountain Rescue Aspen

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Official identification of the deceased hiker is pending with the Pitkin County Coroner’s Office. The agency and the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for additional comment. 

Following the tragedy, the MRA and sheriff’s office issued a joint statement warning hikers traveling in the backcountry to take safety precautions. 

They urged such climbers to “leave a detailed itinerary with a trusted person before departing, including the intended route, expected return time, and contingency plans,” the agencies said.

“Backcountry travelers should also carry appropriate equipment, be prepared for rapidly changing mountain conditions, and carry a reliable two-way satellite communication device when traveling in areas without cellular service,” they added. 

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