Hikers find body in rugged terrain near 11,946-foot peak in Colorado

The body of an overdue climber was found on Lone Eagle Peak near Crater Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness on Tuesday, according to the Grand County Sheriff's Office.

A press release on the incident indicates that emergency personnel was notified of an overdue climber in the area on the morning of July 23 at about 8:30 a.m. The reporting party informed responders that the missing person was planning to travel from Brainard to Pawnee Pass to Crater Lake, up Lone Eagle Peak, and then to Apache Peak before ending his route by traveling back to Brainard.

By 12:15 p.m. that afternoon, hikers reported finding a deceased male in the area of Lone Eagle Peak, but by 3 p.m., treacherous weather had forced any sort of recovery effort to be suspended.

On the morning of the following day, weather had calmed and conditions were deemed to be safe to enter the field. The subject was located approximately eight miles into the Indian Peaks Wilderness and on technical terrain.

The remote and rugged location of the body meant a ground-based effort would have been "extremely dangerous and time consuming." Given that reality, the Colorado Division of Fire Protection and Control Helitac unit picked up four members of Rocky Mountain Rescue Group in Boulder and transported them to the base of Lone Eagle Peak with the mission starting around 6 a.m. Meanwhile, four members of Grand County Search and Rescue also left from the Monarch Lake Trailhead to head into the area as backup in the event that the air-bound rescuers needed assistance or radio relay.

By 1 p.m., the helicopter unit was able to recover and transport the deceased male's body to the Grand County Coroner's Office.

Information about the identity and cause-of-death of the male have not been released.

Condolences go out to those impacted by this death.

Lone Eagle Peak reaches an elevation of 11,946 feet, with even the 'easiest' route up the mountain consisting of class three and four climbing accompanied by plenty of exposure.

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