Rockfall Kills Climber on El Diente Peak

This summer has been deadly in the Rocky Mountains, with fatal accidents occurring on Longs Peak, Little Bear Peak, and El Diente Peak in Colorado and at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

The latest accident occurred about 11:00 in the morning on Monday, July 26, on the jagged ridge between 14,159-foot El Diente Peak and 14,246-foot Mount Wilson, a couple of Colorado's 54 Fourteeners,  in Colorado's San Miguel Range. A party of five climbers was traversing the mile-and-a-half-long ridge, which is notorious for its loose and fractured rock. Most climbers take three hours to make the Class 4 traverse with its route-finding difficulties and sections of rock scrambling.

After leaving El Diente's summit, the group worked their way east along the tottering ridge. They reached a sharply cut notch on the ridge near 14,000 feet and were climbing up a steep rocky gully to the next ridge point when a climber above dislodged some loose rock. The resulting rockfall cascaded down, hitting three of the climbers below. Peter Topp, a 59-year-old retired colonel and experienced mountain climber, was hit hardest, sustaining severe head and torso injuries, while 60-year-old Charlie Zimmerman and 31-year-old Kathy Donnely were less seriously injured.

Zimmerman told the Colorado Springs Gazette newspaper, "He and I were climbing on a face, some other climbers were above us. The next thing I knew, I was on the rocks 40 feet below and Peter was on the rock right above me, unconscious but breathing. I tried to revive him but I never could."

Autumn Thorpe, a friend of the family, reported to me that Mr. Topp, who was wearing a helmet, was hit directly on the head by a large falling rock. He survived for three hours but never regained consciousness and died of his injuries at about 2 p.m.

Details are sketchy right now as to who caused the rockfall. It's possible that a party ahead of the group of five triggered the initial rockfall or it might have been a member of Peter Topp's group. Christina Topp, a climber and daughter of Mr. Topp, says, "My mom especially doesn't want any other climbers to feel responsible, it was an accident. There were hikers above them, but we don't know for sure if they caused the slide." Another factor is all the rain that has fallen in the area in the past couple weeks, possibly loosening the rock more than usual.

The San Miguel County Search and Rescue responders received an emergency call just after the accident. By the time rescuers were on the mountain, the weather, which had previously been sunny, became stormy. Two helicopters responded, including a U.S. Army Blackhawk, ferrying a team into Kilpacker Basin south of the ridge. The rescuers climbed 800 feet up to the injured climbers and began medical treatment and created a landing zone for evacuation.

During the afternoon, however, severe storm cells with lightning, heavy rain, and hail pounded the mountain, grounding the helicopters. Using brief windows between storms, the helicopters swooped in and slowly evacuated the climbers and rescuers, with the last flight at dusk. The two injured climbers were flown to the Telluride airport, transported to Telluride Medical Center, and then air-lifted to a hospital in Grand Junction.

Thanks to all the competent and dedicated search and rescue volunteers and the helicopter pilots with Colorado National Guard and Olathe Spray Service for putting themselves at risk to save lives. These men and women are always unsung heroes. My condolences to Peter Topp's family, his wife Regina, son Erik, and daughter Kristina for their loss. The death of every climber diminishes the rest of us.

Photographs above:  (Top) Peter Topp poses for a summit photo atop El Diente Peak last Monday morning. Photograph courtesy Eric Topp. (Bottom) Looking across the shattered ridge from Mount Wilson to El Diente Peak.  Photograph courtesy Doug Hatfield.

Learn more about loose rock:
15 Tips to Avoid Loose Rock
Loose Rock Tip #1: Always Wear a Climbing Helmet
Loose Rock Tip #3: Don't Climb Below Other Parties
Loose Rock Tip #6: Always Test Suspect Holds