Free Republic

ASPEN, Colo. — Mountain Rescue Aspen responded to two climbing fatalities in less than a week. On Sunday, a climber died after falling on Castle Peak, south of Aspen. On Sept. 2, another climber was killed after falling off Maroon Peak. The Elk Mountains are very rocky, loose shale that’s crumbly and moves a lot,” said Jeff Edelson with Rocky Mountain Rescue. “It’s unfortunate to see two climber deaths in one week in one range. If we look back at our historical data, unfortunately, we do have a couple of deaths a year on average in our range. Sometimes they’re...

Pilot lost control, says rescue team member who was on the craft ASHFORD -- Army Rangers returned yesterday to where their rescue helicopter crashed the day before on Mount Rainier, flying in to retrieve climbing gear they left behind while rescuing an injured climber. Neither the pilot nor two rescuers onboard the Bell Jet Ranger helicopter were hurt when it went down late Tuesday afternoon at the 8,800-foot level of the 14,411-foot peak. They were assisting in an effort to rescue climber Jesse Whitcomb, 19, who suffered a head injury earlier in the day. "I knew the pilot had lost...