National Park Service/FILE
An undated photo shows Ypsilon Mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park, where a climber fell from one of the mountain’s ridges on Sunday.
CNN
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A 26-year-old woman from Boulder, Colorado, died after falling approximately 500 feet while free-lifting on a ridge in the state’s Rocky Mountain National Park on Sunday, the park said.
The unidentified woman’s 27-year-old climbing partner called park rangers to report her partner had fallen from Blitzen Ridge on Ypsilon Mountain, the National Park Service said in a release Monday.
Free-soloing is a dangerous rock climbing technique where climbers climb without ropes, aids or safety equipment – leaving them unprotected in the event of a fall.
Search and rescue team members reached the uninjured climbing partner late Sunday night, although his location required them to request assistance from the Colorado Air National Guard, the park said. A helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base was used to lift the man.
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Early Monday, a search and rescue team was on foot in the area above Ypsilon Lake to prepare for helicopter recovery of the woman’s body, according to the release. The body was then moved to another part of the park and then transferred to the office of a medical examiner, who will determine the cause of death, the release read.
This is the second reported death in Rocky Mountain National Park this month. A 25-year-old man died last week after falling and being pulled under the water at the park’s West Creek Falls.
