Elbert S&R last night

[alpinenut]

We don’t know for sure if it was the same people, but yes we did talk to a group of two 20ish yr old boys leaving the trailhead about noon. They did mention it was their first 14er attempt.

[Tornadoman]

We don’t know for sure if it was the same people, but yes we did talk to a group of two 20ish yr old boys leaving the trailhead about noon. They did mention it was their first 14er attempt.

https://kdvr.com/news/local/hikers-resc ... mt-elbert/

The article mentions that the two rescued hikers started around noon, so seems very likely that it was the two that you encountered. It sounds like they were very lucky to escape without serious frostbite/hypothermia or worse. A lot of lessons to be learned and hopefully if they do decide to go back for other alpine peaks they will take it a bit more seriously. Glad they are ok and thanks for SAR teams for going out in some pretty nasty weather!

[alpinenut]

It says a lot that both teams went out last night. They must have known they would have not made through the night otherwise. I’m really glad to hear they had cell coverage mid-route. That’s pretty rare on most mountains. Thank you CC and Lake SAR teams!!

[Trotter]

We don’t know for sure if it was the same people, but yes we did talk to a group of two 20ish yr old boys leaving the trailhead about noon. They did mention it was their first 14er attempt.

https://kdvr.com/news/local/hikers-resc ... mt-elbert/

The article mentions that the two rescued hikers started around noon, so seems very likely that it was the two that you encountered. It sounds like they were very lucky to escape without serious frostbite/hypothermia or worse. A lot of lessons to be learned and hopefully if they do decide to go back for other alpine peaks they will take it a bit more seriously. Glad they are ok and thanks for SAR teams for going out in some pretty nasty weather!

Good interview video with one of the SAR guys.

The rescued hikers were wearing jeans and tennis shoes, and hadn't checked the weather.

[douglas]

We don’t know for sure if it was the same people, but yes we did talk to a group of two 20ish yr old boys leaving the trailhead about noon. They did mention it was their first 14er attempt.

https://kdvr.com/news/local/hikers-resc ... mt-elbert/

The article mentions that the two rescued hikers started around noon, so seems very likely that it was the two that you encountered. It sounds like they were very lucky to escape without serious frostbite/hypothermia or worse. A lot of lessons to be learned and hopefully if they do decide to go back for other alpine peaks they will take it a bit more seriously. Glad they are ok and thanks for SAR teams for going out in some pretty nasty weather!

Good interview video with one of the SAR guys.

The rescued hikers were wearing jeans and tennis shoes, and hadn't checked the weather.

At the end of the story he says this was the 17th SAR rescue mission on Mt. Elbert since this summer. Seems like a lot.

[peter303]

We don’t know for sure if it was the same people, but yes we did talk to a group of two 20ish yr old boys leaving the trailhead about noon. They did mention it was their first 14er attempt.

Kudos to SARSs that rescued them. Glad they survived.
However we posts here every month from greenhorns with ambitious 14er plans with replies goading them on.

[Carl_Healy]

Wondering if they tried GPS on their phone at all?

Don't even need a GPX track, if they had cell coverage the standard route shows up in Google Maps by default...

[nunns]

Glad this had a more positive ending than what I was fearing reading the subject line.

Alpinenut, so they were starting out at noon from the TH?

Like Scott said, that's about all you can do. This brings up the oft-talked about point of what do you say to people when you feel in your gut a better decision could be had. I've run into folks more than once doing something where I bit my tongue. Usually its some variant of the same thing, not being prepared one way or another.
No, it's not my business, best I've found was to casually make such folks aware of the risks of the situation and gauge their feedback; If they are genuinely, innocently naïve maybe that helps them make a more informed decision and they change their mind. In some cases, as I'm sure many here have experienced, people get belligerent and defensive.

+1. I also try not to judge, but its hard. In most cases "our first 14er" should be Bierstadt, Elbert, etc. On an early July morning with a good weather forecast. Ideally with someone with previous experience in the mountains.
All that being said, props to SAR and I am glad these folks made it out OK. Nice to see a happy ending after so many sad ones the last few months.

Sean Nunn

[pw]

+1. I also try not to judge, but its hard. In most cases "our first 14er" should be Bierstadt, Elbert, etc. On an early July morning with a good weather forecast. Ideally with someone with previous experience in the mountains.
All that being said, props to SAR and I am glad these folks made it out OK. Nice to see a happy ending after so many sad ones the last few months.

Sean Nunn

Likewise on the judging, but in this case, it's clear they were totally clueless and hadn't done one minute of research, beyond figuring out where the trailhead was. Any research at all would have told them they were outfitted incorrectly, were staring too late, and the weather was going to be bad. Not only did they put themselves at risk, but their poor decision making had the SAR guys out overnight in a storm, not safe for them either.

[pw]

+1. I also try not to judge, but its hard. In most cases "our first 14er" should be Bierstadt, Elbert, etc. On an early July morning with a good weather forecast. Ideally with someone with previous experience in the mountains.
All that being said, props to SAR and I am glad these folks made it out OK. Nice to see a happy ending after so many sad ones the last few months.

Sean Nunn

Likewise on the judging, but in this case, it's clear they were totally clueless and hadn't done one minute of research, beyond figuring out where the trailhead was. Any research at all would have told them they were outfitted incorrectly, were starting too late, and the weather was going to be bad. Not only did they put themselves at risk, but their poor decision making had the SAR guys out overnight in a storm, not safe for them either. Basically they did nothing right.

[bluegrassclimber]

Wondering if they tried GPS on their phone at all?

Don't even need a GPX track, if they had cell coverage the standard route shows up in Google Maps by default...

Your brain thinks differently in life or death scenarios, and without training/experience you may not remember things that are “automatic” under normal scenarios. Even experienced people encounter this phenomena. We read all the time about “target fixation” in airline accidents.

It’s possible they forgot - or never checked - which mapping apps have the trail on them. Or, one of the reports said they were on steep terrain aroun 12,800. Maybe they checked once it was clear the terrain was rugged, and then couldn’t find a route back to the trail. And of course, it’s possible that they only took guidance from social media, which makes Elbert seem like a walk up even to the uninitiated.

I’m glad the SAR teams successfully rescued the hikers.

[CaptCO]

Wondering if they tried GPS on their phone at all?

Don't even need a GPX track, if they had cell coverage the standard route shows up in Google Maps by default...

Your brain thinks differently in life or death scenarios, and without training/experience you may not remember things that are “automatic” under normal scenarios. Even experienced people encounter this phenomena. We read all the time about “target fixation” in airline accidents.

It’s possible they forgot - or never checked - which mapping apps have the trail on them. Or, one of the reports said they were on steep terrain aroun 12,800. Maybe they checked once it was clear the terrain was rugged, and then couldn’t find a route back to the trail. And of course, it’s possible that they only took guidance from social media, which makes Elbert seem like a walk up even to the uninitiated.

I’m glad the SAR teams successfully rescued the hikers.

Maps won’t work without cell service. Glad they made it out alive and hats off to S&R