On the afternoon of May 19th a 21-year-old female from Virginia, Illinois, died after falling into Adams Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park. Her body was recovered later that evening. Adams Falls is located on the East Inlet Trail on the west side of the park.
Grand County Sheriff’s Office, Grand County EMS, Grand County Search and Rescue, and Grand Lake Fire assisted the park. Her body was transferred to the Grand County Coroner. The woman’s name will be released after next of kin are notified.
Park visitors are reminded to remain back from the banks of streams, rivers and waterfalls, especially during spring runoff. Rocks at streamside are often slippery. Water is extremely cold and can be deceivingly deep and swift. Always provide proper supervision for children, who by nature, tend to be attracted to water. Powerful currents can quickly pull a person underwater.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Monday, May 30, 2022
Deceased Male Located In Avalanche Debris Other Two Individuals Rescued
At approximately 5:15 p.m. yesterday evening a deceased male was located by searchers who were using a RECCO device and probing in avalanche debris. The recovery operation will be delayed due to winter weather conditions. The ages and hometowns of the three individuals are being withheld until family members are notified.
At 9 a.m. this morning a rock fall and avalanche were reported near the Dreamweaver Couloir on Mt. Meeker. The rock fall and avalanche were witnessed by climbers in the area.
Three individuals were involved in the incident including a female and two males. Due to the location and severity of injuries of one of the males, Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue team members requested assistance from a Colorado National Guard helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base to extricate him via a hoist operation, using a winch operated cable. This occurred at approximately 2 p.m. when there was a brief weather window. Rocky Mountain Rescue assisted with the helicopter hoist operations. The man was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows, transferred to Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance and then flown to Medical Center of the Rockies. The female suffered minor injuries and was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows at 4:15 p.m. where she was transferred by ground to further medical care. Rescue teams worked in terrain above 11,500 feet and at times experienced winter like weather conditions throughout the day.
Several agencies assisted Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue team with this operation including Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Flight for Life, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Front Range Rescue Dogs, Colorado National Guard, and Med Evac.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
At 9 a.m. this morning a rock fall and avalanche were reported near the Dreamweaver Couloir on Mt. Meeker. The rock fall and avalanche were witnessed by climbers in the area.
Three individuals were involved in the incident including a female and two males. Due to the location and severity of injuries of one of the males, Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue team members requested assistance from a Colorado National Guard helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base to extricate him via a hoist operation, using a winch operated cable. This occurred at approximately 2 p.m. when there was a brief weather window. Rocky Mountain Rescue assisted with the helicopter hoist operations. The man was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows, transferred to Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance and then flown to Medical Center of the Rockies. The female suffered minor injuries and was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows at 4:15 p.m. where she was transferred by ground to further medical care. Rescue teams worked in terrain above 11,500 feet and at times experienced winter like weather conditions throughout the day.
Several agencies assisted Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue team with this operation including Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Flight for Life, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Front Range Rescue Dogs, Colorado National Guard, and Med Evac.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
Trail Ridge Road Opens For The Season / Timed Entry Permit Reservations Required For Trail Ridge Road 9 am to 3 pm
On May 27th, Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park opened for the season. Due to melting snow on the road and the potential for freezing temperatures visitors should be prepared for icy conditions. At this time, night-time closures will not be implemented. However, because weather conditions may change rapidly, and winter weather is forecast for higher elevations this holiday weekend, including freezing temperatures and some snow accumulation, park visitors should be prepared to adjust travel plans accordingly and are encouraged to call the park’s Trail Ridge Road recorded status phone line at (970) 586-1222. Park staff will update the recorded line when/if the road status changes.
Alpine Visitor Center is tentatively scheduled to open Saturday, May 28. Trail Ridge Store will likely be opening later in the week.
Timed Entry Permit Reservations Effective May 27
Rocky Mountain National Park is implementing a pilot timed entry permit reservation system which began today, May 27. Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the busiest national parks in the country, with over 4.4 million visitors in 2021. Visitor crowding and congestion have led to increased negative impacts to visitor and staff safety, resource protection, visitor experience and operational capacity. The park has piloted various visitor use management strategies since 2016, including first-come, first-served as well as different park wide Timed Entry Permit Reservation systems in 2020, 2021 and again in 2022.
There are two types of reservations available. One permit is for the Bear Lake Road Corridor, which includes the entire corridor and access to the rest of the park. This reservation period is from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. The second permit is for the rest of Rocky Mountain National Park, excluding the Bear Lake Road corridor, and includes Trail Ridge Road. This reservation period is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Permits issued using the reservation system will allow park visitors to enter the park within two-hour windows of availability. The reservation system will apply to all areas of the park. To learn more visit https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/timed-entry-permit-system.htm
Trail Ridge Road historically opens on Memorial Day weekend; last year the road opened on May 28. The earliest the road has opened was on May 7, 2002; the latest June 26, 1943. Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States, climbs to 12,183 feet and connects the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake. Trail Ridge Road officially closed for the season last year on October 25.
National Park Service plow operators began clearing the snow in the middle of April. Crews from the west side of the park and crews from the east side of the park move along the road and eventually meet at the Alpine Visitor Center. The visitor center is the highest in the National Park Service, sitting at 11,796 feet above sea level. Spring storms often impact plowing activities. This year, crews ran into average to below average snowpack and a heavy spring snowstorm in late May.
For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park visit www.nps.gov/romo or call the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206. For a recorded status line on Trail Ridge Road please call (970) 586-1222.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
Alpine Visitor Center is tentatively scheduled to open Saturday, May 28. Trail Ridge Store will likely be opening later in the week.
Timed Entry Permit Reservations Effective May 27
Rocky Mountain National Park is implementing a pilot timed entry permit reservation system which began today, May 27. Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the busiest national parks in the country, with over 4.4 million visitors in 2021. Visitor crowding and congestion have led to increased negative impacts to visitor and staff safety, resource protection, visitor experience and operational capacity. The park has piloted various visitor use management strategies since 2016, including first-come, first-served as well as different park wide Timed Entry Permit Reservation systems in 2020, 2021 and again in 2022.
There are two types of reservations available. One permit is for the Bear Lake Road Corridor, which includes the entire corridor and access to the rest of the park. This reservation period is from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. The second permit is for the rest of Rocky Mountain National Park, excluding the Bear Lake Road corridor, and includes Trail Ridge Road. This reservation period is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Permits issued using the reservation system will allow park visitors to enter the park within two-hour windows of availability. The reservation system will apply to all areas of the park. To learn more visit https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/timed-entry-permit-system.htm
Trail Ridge Road historically opens on Memorial Day weekend; last year the road opened on May 28. The earliest the road has opened was on May 7, 2002; the latest June 26, 1943. Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States, climbs to 12,183 feet and connects the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake. Trail Ridge Road officially closed for the season last year on October 25.
National Park Service plow operators began clearing the snow in the middle of April. Crews from the west side of the park and crews from the east side of the park move along the road and eventually meet at the Alpine Visitor Center. The visitor center is the highest in the National Park Service, sitting at 11,796 feet above sea level. Spring storms often impact plowing activities. This year, crews ran into average to below average snowpack and a heavy spring snowstorm in late May.
For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park visit www.nps.gov/romo or call the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206. For a recorded status line on Trail Ridge Road please call (970) 586-1222.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
Incident On Dreamweaver Couloir On Mount Meeker In Rocky Mountain National Park
At approximately 9 a.m. yesterday morning, a rock fall and avalanche were reported near the Dreamweaver Couloir on Mt. Meeker. The rock fall and avalanche were witnessed by climbers in the area.
Three individuals were involved in the incident including a female and two males. The female suffered minor injuries and is still on scene. Due to the location and severity of injuries of one of the males, Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue team members requested assistance from a Colorado National Guard helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base to extricate him via a hoist operation, using a winch operated cable. This occurred at approximately 2 p.m. when there was a brief weather window. Rocky Mountain Rescue assisted with the helicopter hoist operations. The man was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows, transferred to Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance and then flown to Medical Center of the Rockies. Rescue teams are working in terrain above 11,500 feet and are experiencing winter like weather conditions.
A search is continuing for the second male who is still missing in the area where the avalanche occurred.
Several agencies are assisting Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue team with this operation including Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Flight for Life, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Front Range Rescue Dogs, Colorado National Guard, and Med Evac.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
Three individuals were involved in the incident including a female and two males. The female suffered minor injuries and is still on scene. Due to the location and severity of injuries of one of the males, Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue team members requested assistance from a Colorado National Guard helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base to extricate him via a hoist operation, using a winch operated cable. This occurred at approximately 2 p.m. when there was a brief weather window. Rocky Mountain Rescue assisted with the helicopter hoist operations. The man was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows, transferred to Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance and then flown to Medical Center of the Rockies. Rescue teams are working in terrain above 11,500 feet and are experiencing winter like weather conditions.
A search is continuing for the second male who is still missing in the area where the avalanche occurred.
Several agencies are assisting Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue team with this operation including Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Flight for Life, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Front Range Rescue Dogs, Colorado National Guard, and Med Evac.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Rocky Mountain National Park Announces Hiker Shuttle Will Operate May 27 Through October 10
Rocky Mountain National Park will be operating the Hiker Shuttle from May 27 through October 10, from the Estes Park Visitor Center to the Park & Ride Transit Hub located on Bear Lake Road. There are no other stops in the park. At the Park & Ride, riders will transfer to the Bear Lake or Moraine Park shuttles to get to their trailhead destinations.
As part of the park’s overall pilot timed entry system, two things will be needed to ride the Hiker Shuttle: reservation tickets for all passengers plus a valid park entrance pass. One person may reserve up to 4 tickets per $2 reservation. At 5 p.m. the night before, a limited number of tickets will be available for seven specific time slots at RMNP Hiker Shuttle Reservations For example, if you want to reserve a spot on the Hiker Shuttle for May 27, tickets will be available on May 26 at 5 pm. Space is limited, please only reserve the number of seats needed. Park entrance passes are also required. Riders can use an existing annual or lifetime pass, such as a senior pass, or purchase a day pass on recreation.gov. Private vehicle access is not permitted with a Hiker Shuttle ticket.
The Hiker Shuttle will depart from the Estes Park Visitor Center to the Bear Lake Road Park & Ride at 9 am, 9:45 am, 10:30 am, 11:15 am, noon, 12:45 pm, 1:30 pm, and 2:15 pm, May 27 through October 10. Passengers are required to depart from the Estes Park Visitor Center using the specific time slot reserved.
The Hiker Shuttle will return from the Park & Ride to the Estes Park Visitor Center roughly every 45 minutes beginning at 9:45 am through 5:15 pm. Passengers can return using any Hiker Shuttle throughout the day. The last shuttle will depart from the Bear Lake Road Park & Ride at 5:15 pm. There are no other buses back to the Estes Park Visitor Center after this time. For further details on the Hiker Shuttle and the Bear Lake and Moraine Park routes please visit RMNP Shuttle Buses
The Hiker Shuttle route has been in place since 2006, however it was not operational in 2020 and 2021. In 2019, there were over 45,000 park visitors who utilized the Hiker Shuttle. Park visitors can park at the Estes Park Visitor Center parking garage or utilize the existing town of Estes Park transit system to ride from their lodging or other locations to the Estes Park Visitor Center. Since 2017, wait times for the Hiker Shuttle from the Estes Park Visitor Center were often between one to two hours.
Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the busiest national parks; third in the country in 2019 with over 4.6 million visitors. This represents a 42 percent increase in visitation in seven years. Visitor crowding and congestion at the park have led to increased negative impacts to visitor and staff safety, resource protection, visitor experience and operational capacity. The park has piloted various visitor use management strategies over the last six years, including managing vehicle access to first-come, first serve (2016-2019) in highly congested areas. These first-come, first-serve restrictions had some limited success initially, but over time began to lose effectiveness; the length of time they were necessary kept expanding and impacts were pushed elsewhere. The park piloted park wide timed entry permit reservation systems (2020-2021) and will be piloting a similar system again in 2022. Park staff are learning from these various strategies since 2016, including piloting timed entry reservations on the Hiker Shuttle, to help inform long-range day use visitor access strategies.
For more detailed information on how to book a private vehicle timed entry and details about the times of day they are required as well as Frequently Asked Questions, please visit https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/timed-entry-permit-system.htm
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
As part of the park’s overall pilot timed entry system, two things will be needed to ride the Hiker Shuttle: reservation tickets for all passengers plus a valid park entrance pass. One person may reserve up to 4 tickets per $2 reservation. At 5 p.m. the night before, a limited number of tickets will be available for seven specific time slots at RMNP Hiker Shuttle Reservations For example, if you want to reserve a spot on the Hiker Shuttle for May 27, tickets will be available on May 26 at 5 pm. Space is limited, please only reserve the number of seats needed. Park entrance passes are also required. Riders can use an existing annual or lifetime pass, such as a senior pass, or purchase a day pass on recreation.gov. Private vehicle access is not permitted with a Hiker Shuttle ticket.
The Hiker Shuttle will depart from the Estes Park Visitor Center to the Bear Lake Road Park & Ride at 9 am, 9:45 am, 10:30 am, 11:15 am, noon, 12:45 pm, 1:30 pm, and 2:15 pm, May 27 through October 10. Passengers are required to depart from the Estes Park Visitor Center using the specific time slot reserved.
The Hiker Shuttle will return from the Park & Ride to the Estes Park Visitor Center roughly every 45 minutes beginning at 9:45 am through 5:15 pm. Passengers can return using any Hiker Shuttle throughout the day. The last shuttle will depart from the Bear Lake Road Park & Ride at 5:15 pm. There are no other buses back to the Estes Park Visitor Center after this time. For further details on the Hiker Shuttle and the Bear Lake and Moraine Park routes please visit RMNP Shuttle Buses
The Hiker Shuttle route has been in place since 2006, however it was not operational in 2020 and 2021. In 2019, there were over 45,000 park visitors who utilized the Hiker Shuttle. Park visitors can park at the Estes Park Visitor Center parking garage or utilize the existing town of Estes Park transit system to ride from their lodging or other locations to the Estes Park Visitor Center. Since 2017, wait times for the Hiker Shuttle from the Estes Park Visitor Center were often between one to two hours.
Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the busiest national parks; third in the country in 2019 with over 4.6 million visitors. This represents a 42 percent increase in visitation in seven years. Visitor crowding and congestion at the park have led to increased negative impacts to visitor and staff safety, resource protection, visitor experience and operational capacity. The park has piloted various visitor use management strategies over the last six years, including managing vehicle access to first-come, first serve (2016-2019) in highly congested areas. These first-come, first-serve restrictions had some limited success initially, but over time began to lose effectiveness; the length of time they were necessary kept expanding and impacts were pushed elsewhere. The park piloted park wide timed entry permit reservation systems (2020-2021) and will be piloting a similar system again in 2022. Park staff are learning from these various strategies since 2016, including piloting timed entry reservations on the Hiker Shuttle, to help inform long-range day use visitor access strategies.
For more detailed information on how to book a private vehicle timed entry and details about the times of day they are required as well as Frequently Asked Questions, please visit https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/timed-entry-permit-system.htm
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
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