Fatal accident on Crestone Needle

[JenGa]

RIP Matthew.

[BagginPeaks]

I generally try and stay out of the accidents page, but this one has struck me with curiosity. From what little I have read, he was on the Ellingwood Arete route. This is a route I have had my eye on for a couple years now. And with the utmost respect, I just have to ask.. Was he soloing or was he with a partner? Was he roped or unroped when he fell? Did a piece of gear fail or did he fall before they were roped up?

RIP Mathew, condolences to the family and friends that will be missing you.

[mtgirl]

RIP, Dr. Matthew Davis. Thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and the fine individuals who devote their time to SAR teams.

[Sean Nunn]

Terribly tragic. The only positive thing is that he died doing something he enjoyed.

[Custer County SAR]

He had a climbing partner and they had finished the direct start with no issues. As we understand it, the fall occurred while the pair were crossing the class 3 section, while un-roped. His climbing partner was able to down climb and determine that he did not survive the fall.

[anasarca76]

My condolences to the fallen climbers friends and family. Be safe out there everyone!

[polar]

Condolences to Dr. Davis's friends and family. I was also eyeing Ellingwood Ledges (aka Ellingwood Arete) this year, but wasn't able to get on it due to work-related travels. It's very sad to hear about this accident. There are a lot of exposed class 3/class 4 terrain on this route where most would scramble unroped for speed, but any slip on those easier section can have very dire consequences.

[Upwardlybound]

Thanks for the update, CCS&R. Your work is very much appreciated. My heartfelt condolences to the family. Be safe out there everyone. Tragedy can happen when and where you least expect it.

[TomPierce]

Polar/Baggin Peaks: I've been on the route twice, doing both the older Head Crack variation, which IMO has fallen out of favor, as well as the newer variation with the dihedral/crack finish. Both are pretty straightforward, protect well on relatively solid rock. IMO opinion the safety crux of the climb is the long class 3 scramble up to the climbing cruxes. The terrain gets progressively steeper where a fall could quickly build momentum, it's too long to pitch out, and good protection opportunities sparse. Think steeper staircase climbing with alpine grass…the kind that could get slick when wet. As you suspect, Polar, if you slipped there it could get dire very quickly. Personally I wouldn't do that section in any sort of marginal weather, or even within a day of prior rain, but that's just conservative-when-unroped me.

Condolences to the fallen climber, RIP.

-Tom