3 climbers, led by Boulder guide, fall 400 feet in RMNP

By Heath Urie, Boulder Daily Camera
Thursday, June 11, 2009

BOULDER, Colo. — A family of three and a Boulder guide who fell between 300 and 400 feet while climbing in Rocky Mountain National Park this week decided against using some safety gear in order to outrun a thunderstorm, according to the guide’s manager.

All four people were hurt in the fall, but the worst of the injuries was a broken ankle suffered by Colorado Mountain School guide Steve Johnson, 40, of Boulder.

Johnson was leading three Greenwood Village family members on a training exercise down a steep, snowy route Tuesday when one of the climbers slipped. The group, including a father, his 15-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter, was attached by a rope, which created a domino effect and dragged them all to the rocks below.

Climbers starting a descent of the Hallett Couloir in late May, 2009.

The accident happened just after 2 p.m. about 2½ miles from the Bear Lake Trailhead.

“They were descending a snow slope below Hallet’s (Peak), and one of the clients tripped or stumbled,” said Mike Alkaitis, general manager of the Colorado Mountain School in Boulder.

Alkaitis said the family members, each of whom had prior climbing experience, were working with Johnson to prepare for a trip to Mont Blanc — the highest mountain in the French Alps.

The route the group was taking Tuesday is one of the “standard areas for snow school ascending and descending,” Alkaitis said.

The group was using crampons — special ice picks attached to the bottom of boots — and ice axes. They were not, however, using snow pickets as anchors to stop any possible falls.

Alkaitis said the group was concerned about outrunning a thunderstorm, and placing the snow pickets would have slowed the descent. He did not know the condition of the snow at the time of the accident.

According to Kyle Patterson, spokeswoman for Rocky Mountain National Park, the 15-year-old boy suffered deep bruises to his neck. Both the boy and Johnson had to be carried from the mountain on litters by rescue workers, who arrived at the scene about 4 p.m. and worked to get them down for about five hours.

The boy was taken by ambulance to Estes Park Medical Center.

Johnson, who did not respond to an e-mail Thursday requesting comment, was taken by friends to Estes Park Medical Center and released late Tuesday night.

Patterson declined to release the names of the other adults involved, but she said they suffered minor bumps and bruises that did not require hospitalization.

“They were certainly fortunate,” Patterson said, adding that the park is still investigating the accident.

According to the Colorado Mountain School Web site, Johnson began climbing in 1992 and became a guide in 1996. He joined the school in 2005 and is a certified alpine guide.

An online profile says Johnson spends the majority of his time climbing in Rocky Mountain National Park, but he has experience climbing in France, Italy and Switzerland. He has guided climbs along the Front Range, Mexico and Ecuador.

Johnson also works as a certified massage therapist, according to the Web site.

Steve Johnson on the final pitch of the 'Organ Pipes' (III M4, WI4+) in 2005.