Recovery mission turns rescue mission for emergency responders near Capitol Peak

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Aspen Daily News and was shared via AP StoryShare. 

An Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter immediately pivoted missions Wednesday afternoon when a “landslide of sorts” came toppling down from Capitol Peak onto four Mountain Rescue Aspen responders who were in the field attempting to recover the body of an overdue hiker. 

The hiker, 32-year-old Kelly McDermott, of Wisconsin, had initially departed with friends Saturday morning with the intention of summiting Capitol Peak; however, due to inclement weather, the crew turned back at the lake. 

“He really wanted to go finish Capitol, so he went up Sunday morning early,” said Parker Lathrop, Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy of operations, adding that McDermott had “spotted a weather window” in which he felt the trek would be safe. 

Three of the four responders sustained injuries — ranging from “very moderate to severe,” as described by Lathrop — but with aerial teams already on scene for the recovery mission, help was on the way immediately.

“It was having HAATS in the air, CareFlight and Flight for Life involved … everyone’s mission changed instantly. It was impressive, to say the least, from everybody’s point of view,” Lathrop said of the rescue. “Everybody spoke very highly of every other organization involved. For the HAATS guys, that was what they trained for in war zones — and it felt very much like that today. It was no longer routine, it was very, very serious very quickly.”

“After beginning the climb toward McDermott, rescuers heard someone yell ‘Rocks!’ from far above the body,” a Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office press release explains. “Moments later, a massive rockfall, described as ‘an avalanche of rocks’ by one of the rescuers, came crashing down the mountain toward the four MRA members. One rescuer was able to avoid being struck by the rocks while the other three rescuers each were struck by the flowing rockslide and sustained injuries.”

The responder who sustained major injuries was struck by a rock, resulting in a roughly 20-foot “rag doll,” somersault spiral, it continues. Around 9:45 a.m., two MRA rescuers, who were flying aboard the HAATS Blackhawk helicopter, spotted McDermott roughly 500 feet below the south end of a ridge known as the “Knife Edge,” near the summit of Capitol Peak. It appeared as though McDermott had fallen and sustained fatal injuries at some point prior to the arrival of rescuers.

“Around 10:30 a.m., four rescuers began to climb uphill toward McDermott from the area above Pierre Lakes. After the debris slide, the rescuers were able to administer immediate medical care to their seriously injured team member, and the HAATS Blackhawk helicopter quickly returned to their location and used a hoist to pick up the rescuers and transport them to the Aspen Pitkin County Airport, where two ambulances from Aspen Ambulance were waiting to transport them to Aspen Valley Hospital, the release outlines,” the PCSO clarifies. “Helicopters from CareFlight of the Rockies and Flight For Life assisted in the rescue efforts of the injured Mountain Rescue Aspen personnel.”

Two out of the three injured rescuers were treated and released from Aspen Valley Hospital, while the fourth rescuer was flown via helicopter to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood for emergency surgery. 

McDermott — a respiratory therapist from Madison, Wisconsin, according to his LinkedIn profile — was described as an experienced mountaineer, Lathrop commented.

“He is also described as a peak bagger — someone who does this often. Packs light, knows what he’s doing,” he said. “He’s very organized in what he does. This was something that wasn’t outside his skillset, his experience.”

“He really wanted to go finish Capitol, so he went up Sunday morning early,” Lathrop said, adding that McDermott had “spotted a weather window” in which he felt the trek would be safe. 

Lathrop emphasized that these kinds of situations can happen to anyone but also underscores the technicality of the “14ers” — mountains with elevations above 14,000 feet — in the area.

“For stuff like this, you don’t just have to have the equipment, you also have to have the knowledge, the experience and know-how on how to go after these 14ers. We have true, technical climbing,” he said. “These shouldn’t be your first ones; these shouldn’t be your first technical climbs. You gain that experience and that knowledge throughout a long time, and you build up to this.”

Capitol Peak is a mountain with an elevation of 14,130 feet in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area, approximately 14 miles west of Aspen. It’s considered a very difficult climb with numerous exposures and loose, crumbling rock.

“He expected to be out by 2 p.m. He did not return,” Lathrop continued. “Monday morning, with HAATS, CareFlight and Fight for Life and MRA, we began a search of the Capitol area looking for any sight of him. Given the weather the past few days, it made searches difficult but we were still in search mode, so to speak.”

When the weather cleared Wednesday morning, the rescue teams successfully spotted McDermott’s body, though they were not successful in recovering it. 
“He was not recovered today; we’re taking this time to kind of step back, look at all the options at what’s safe and practical and formulate a game plan from there. And what that game plan is at this point is very much in the air,” Lathrop said.

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