Fatal 400-foot-fall from cliff resulted in formation of Colorado search and rescue team

On June 27, 1959, a tragic accident took place four miles southwest of Morrison, which led to the founding of one of Colorado's longest-operating search and rescue organizations.

As reported by the Canyon Courier on July 2, 1959, an Englewood man, Philip Jensen, was climbing a 600-foot-tall cliff known as "Lover's Leap," which is found off of Highway 285 in Turkey Creek Canyon. He was with three other climbers at the time.

Jensen unfortunately fell about 400 feet from the cliffside when a piton attached to the group's scaling rope pulled loose, resulting in his death. The other three climbers witnessed Jensen's fall and ended up stranded on the cliffside in the absence of the scaling rope.

Two witnesses in a cabin across the canyon had been watching the climbers through binoculars, seeing the fall and calling for help immediately.

After about 2.5 hours, a crew of rescuers that included the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, the Indian Hills Rescue Squad, and volunteer firemen were able to bring the stuck climbers to safety.

This was the second time in a week that the Indian Hills fire crew was called into the field for a rescue, showing the need for a designated team with mountain rescue expertise.

With that revelation, Alpine Rescue Team was born, still in operation today. The team serves Jefferson, Clear Creek, and Gilpin counties – all very popular destinations for those in the Denver metro. According to Alpine Rescue Team, their crew is made up of 84 "dedicated unpaid, professional rescuers."

A donation can be made to Alpine Rescue Team here .

If you're interested in supporting Colorado's volunteer-powered search and rescue operation, another way to do so is through the purchase of a CORSAR card . It's cheap, at only $5 per year.

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