Denver Man Dead After Fall Near 13,409′ Navajo Peak, CO Yesterday

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13,409′ Navajo Peak, CO. image: summitpost.com

A Denver man died after falling off a boulder he was climbing near 13,409-foot Navajo Peak in Boulder County in the Brainard Lake Recreational Area on Saturday, July 7th 2018, according to the Boulder Country sheriff’s office.

The 31-year-old man was hiking with his girlfriend, a physician, who said he fell 20-30 and hit his head several times before landing in a rocky crack.

“Deputies and medical personnel responded and learned that a 31-year-old Denver man had been on a day hike with his girlfriend. The pair hiked to the base of Navajo Peak from Brainard Lake, and the man was climbing a boulder when he slipped and fell. According to the man’s girlfriend, she believes he fell 20 to 30 feet, hitting his head several times during the fall. The man landed in a rocky crevasse.” – Boulder County sheriff’s office, yesterday

His girlfriend unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate the man after his fall.

911 operators received a distress call from a campground host in the Brainard Lake Recreational Area at 1:30pm on Saturday. 

The man’s body has not yet been recovered and is forecast to be a technical effort due to its location.

Sheriff’s investigators, along with medical investigators from the Boulder County Coroner’s Office, in consultation with rescue personnel from the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, determined that it was unsafe to try and recover the man’s body due to the weather and late hour of the day. Rescue personnel are planning to try and recover the man’s body tomorrow morning. Recovery of the man’s body is expected to be a protracted and technical effort.” – Boulder County sheriff’s office, yesterday

No foul play is suspected.

Another man has been missing over a week after summiting 13,916-foot Mount Meeker, CO on July 3rd, 2018.

Last year, 11 people died on 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado.

Map showing pin in location of Navajo Peak, CO.

Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Press Release:

The man and his girlfriend had been on a day hike in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area when he slipped, fell, and sustained massive trauma

Boulder County, Colo. – This afternoon around 1:30 p.m., the Sheriff’s Communications Center received a 911 call from the camp host at the Pawnee Campground in the Brainard Lake Recreational Area about a report she had received about a man who had fallen near Navajo Peak. The man was reported to have died from injuries sustained in the fall.

Deputies and medical personnel responded and learned that a 31-year-old Denver man had been on a day hike with his girlfriend. The pair hiked to the base of Navajo Peak from Brainard Lake, and the man was climbing a boulder when he slipped and fell. According to the man’s girlfriend, she believes he fell 20 to 30 feet, hitting his head several times during the fall. The man landed in a rocky crevasse.

The man’s girlfriend, a medical doctor, climbed down to him and found that he had no pulse. The man sustained significant trauma during the fall and could not be resuscitated. The man’s girlfriend did not have cell phone service and had to make the approximately five-mile hike back to Brainard Lake to call for help. The hike between Brainard Lake and the base of Navajo Peak typically takes between one-and-a-half to two hours.

Sheriff’s investigators, along with medical investigators from the Boulder County Coroner’s Office, in consultation with rescue personnel from the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, determined that it was unsafe to try and recover the man’s body due to the weather and late hour of the day. Rescue personnel are planning to try and recover the man’s body tomorrow morning. Recovery of the man’s body is expected to be a protracted and technical effort.

The man’s girlfriend has been cooperative in the investigation, and no foul play is suspected.

The coroner’s office is responsible to determine the cause and manner of the man’s death, as well as to publicly identify him once his identity has been confirmed and his family has been notified.

The case number associated with this incident is 18-3940.


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