At 2:00 p.m. this afternoon David Laurienti's body was found in the Upper Fay Lakes drainage on the north slope of Ypsilon Mountain. His body has been protected and moved to a more secure location. The six-person park team who located his body will be coming out of the backcountry tonight.
Tomorrow, park rangers will evaluate alternatives for the safe recovery of his body. This will be dictated largely by weather, wind and avalanche conditions.
David Laurienti, forty-three years old from Estes Park, died from injuries believed to be sustained in a fall, likely occurring in an avalanche. Search efforts began yesterday morning, March 19, for David Laurienti and Lisa Foster, two overdue climbers from Estes Park. At around 2:45 p.m. park rangers found Foster, forty-five years old, in the upper Fay Lakes basin approximately 6 miles from the Lawn Lake Trailhead. Ms. Foster and Mr. Laurienti had been caught in an avalanche at approximately 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, when descending from the north side of Blitzen Ridge on the 13,514 foot Ypsilon Mountain. Foster suffered numerous injuries. Park rangers provided her with assistance, medical care and evacuated her via toboggan from Ypsilon Lake, which is roughly 4.5 miles from the Lawn Lake Trailhead.
Blitzen Ridge on Ypsilon Mountain is a challenging mountaineering route that includes sections of technical rock, often made more difficult in winter conditions. Recent snow and winds have contributed to what the Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecasted as considerable avalanche conditions in this area since Saturday. Ypsilon (pronounced ipp-salon) Mountain is located north of Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Update on Fatality Near Ypsilon Mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park rescuers arrived at the trailhead with Lisa Foster at 1:00 a.m. this morning, Tuesday, March 19. They were assisted in the evacuation by Larimer County Search and Rescue. Foster was transported by ambulance to Estes Park Medical Center. Specific information on her injuries will not be released. Over 32 park rescuers were involved in yesterday's efforts plus six members of Larimer County Search and Rescue.
This morning a six-person team was planning an attempt to locate Mr. Laurienti's body and conduct an investigation, if weather and avalanche conditions allowed. Foster reported his body to be in the upper Fay Lakes area north of Ypsilon Mountain. The weather forecast continues to call for high winds with gusts exceeding 60 mph at times, blowing and drifting snow and very cold temperatures above 11,000 feet. The body recovery efforts will take place on another day when weather and conditions allow.
David Laurienti, a forty-three year old male from Estes Park, is presumed dead from injuries believed to be sustained in a fall, likely occurring in an avalanche. Search efforts began yesterday morning, March 18, for Laurienti and Foster, two overdue climbers from Estes Park. At around 2:45 p.m. park rangers found Foster, forty-five years old, in the upper Fay Lakes basin approximately 6 miles from the Lawn Lake Trailhead. Ms. Foster and Mr. Laurienti had been caught in an avalanche at approximately 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, when descending from the north side of Blitzen Ridge on the 13,514 foot Ypsilon Mountain. Foster suffered numerous injuries. Park rangers provided her with assistance, medical care and evacuated her via toboggan from Ypsilon Lake, which is roughly 4.5 miles from the Lawn Lake Trailhead.
Blitzen Ridge on Ypsilon Mountain is a challenging mountaineering route that includes sections of technical rock, often made more difficult in winter conditions. Recent snow and winds have contributed to what the Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecasted as considerable avalanche conditions in this area since Saturday. Ypsilon (pronounced ipp-salon) Mountain is located north of Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Lisa Foster is a park service biology technician and the author of Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
David Laurienti, a forty-three year old male from Estes Park, is presumed dead from injuries believed to be sustained in a fall, likely occurring in an avalanche. Search efforts began yesterday morning, March 18, for Laurienti and Foster, two overdue climbers from Estes Park. At around 2:45 p.m. park rangers found Foster, forty-five years old, in the upper Fay Lakes basin approximately 6 miles from the Lawn Lake Trailhead. Ms. Foster and Mr. Laurienti had been caught in an avalanche at approximately 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, when descending from the north side of Blitzen Ridge on the 13,514 foot Ypsilon Mountain. Foster suffered numerous injuries. Park rangers provided her with assistance, medical care and evacuated her via toboggan from Ypsilon Lake, which is roughly 4.5 miles from the Lawn Lake Trailhead.
Blitzen Ridge on Ypsilon Mountain is a challenging mountaineering route that includes sections of technical rock, often made more difficult in winter conditions. Recent snow and winds have contributed to what the Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecasted as considerable avalanche conditions in this area since Saturday. Ypsilon (pronounced ipp-salon) Mountain is located north of Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Lisa Foster is a park service biology technician and the author of Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
Man Killed, Partner Injured In Avalanche on Ypsilon Mountain
Rocky Mountain National Park Rangers began a search yesterday morning for two overdue climbers who were caught in an avalanche on Sunday evening while descending from the north side of Blitzen Ridge on 13,514-foot Ypsilon Mountain. One of them, a 45-year-old woman, was found in mid-afternoon in the upper Fay Lakes basin about six miles from the Lawn Lake trailhead. She’d suffered numerous injuries and was treated and evacuated by rangers. Efforts are continuing to find the body of her 43-year-old male partner.
Blitzen Ridge on Ypsilon Mountain is a challenging mountaineering route that includes sections of technical rock, often made more difficult by winter conditions. The avalanche danger in the area has been higher than normal since Saturday due to snow and high winds
Media reports are identifying the injured woman as Lisa Foster, a park service biology technician, and the author of Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
Blitzen Ridge on Ypsilon Mountain is a challenging mountaineering route that includes sections of technical rock, often made more difficult by winter conditions. The avalanche danger in the area has been higher than normal since Saturday due to snow and high winds
Media reports are identifying the injured woman as Lisa Foster, a park service biology technician, and the author of Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
The Allegheny 100 Backpacking Challenge
Alright, this is your official forewarning. You better start training right now! This June the North Country Trail Association will be holding its 4th annual Allegheny 100 Backpacking Challenge: to hike 100 miles in 50 hours!
The NCTA makes clear that the "A-100" is not a race; but an individual challenge of one’s stamina, determination and resilience.
The adventure takes place on a 100-mile stretch of the North Country National Scenic Trail that meanders through the rolling hills of the Allegheny National Forest in northwest Pennsylvania.
The ultimate goal of the Allegheny 100 is to promote awareness of The North Country Trail.
Most people would probably assume that the either the Appalachian, Continental Divide, or the Pacific Crest Trail, would be the longest National Scenic Trail in the United States. That assumption would be incorrect. Stretching more than 4600 miles through seven states, from New York to North Dakota, the North Country Trail actually makes the claim to being the longest National Scenic Trail in the country.
The backpacking challenge isn't necessarily difficult in terms of climbing and descending, but 100 miles is still 100 miles.
This year's event will be held from Friday, June 7th at 6pm, through Sunday, June 9th at 8pm. The course for the challenge will extend from just south of Marienville, at Vowinckel, Pennsylvania, to a point just before reaching the New York border at Willow Bay. Outside support is not permitted - so you're on your own once you're on the trail. There are no first aid stations or watering stations along the way either (there are plenty of streams and springs). If 100 miles is bit more than you can chew off, 75, 50 and 25-mile options will also be offered.
For more information on the event, please click here.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
The NCTA makes clear that the "A-100" is not a race; but an individual challenge of one’s stamina, determination and resilience.
The adventure takes place on a 100-mile stretch of the North Country National Scenic Trail that meanders through the rolling hills of the Allegheny National Forest in northwest Pennsylvania.
The ultimate goal of the Allegheny 100 is to promote awareness of The North Country Trail.
Most people would probably assume that the either the Appalachian, Continental Divide, or the Pacific Crest Trail, would be the longest National Scenic Trail in the United States. That assumption would be incorrect. Stretching more than 4600 miles through seven states, from New York to North Dakota, the North Country Trail actually makes the claim to being the longest National Scenic Trail in the country.
The backpacking challenge isn't necessarily difficult in terms of climbing and descending, but 100 miles is still 100 miles.
This year's event will be held from Friday, June 7th at 6pm, through Sunday, June 9th at 8pm. The course for the challenge will extend from just south of Marienville, at Vowinckel, Pennsylvania, to a point just before reaching the New York border at Willow Bay. Outside support is not permitted - so you're on your own once you're on the trail. There are no first aid stations or watering stations along the way either (there are plenty of streams and springs). If 100 miles is bit more than you can chew off, 75, 50 and 25-mile options will also be offered.
For more information on the event, please click here.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
Monday, March 18, 2013
Reminder: Public Meeting Scheduled on Potential Multiuse Trail System in Rocky Mountain NP
Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) is preparing a Multiuse Trail Plan with an accompanying Environmental Assessment (EA). RMNP completed a Multiuse Trail Feasibility Study in 2009, for the developed eastern portion of the park. This study confirmed the feasibility of a trail system that would extend approximately 15.5 miles from the Fall River Entrance to Sprague Lake, with potential connections to three visitor centers, three campgrounds, and numerous hiker shuttle stops. The National Park Service is continuing the planning process with the development of a Multiuse Trail Plan/EA, which will examine the possible options for the multiuse trail alignments and analyze potential environmental impacts.
The purpose of this plan/EA is to develop alternatives for a multiuse trail system to connect with trails that are being developed in the Estes Valley, to reduce traffic congestion, and to evaluate multimodal options (including connections to the shuttle system) along the developed corridor of roads on the east side of the park. The trail, if constructed, would be located outside designated wilderness. Multiuse in a national park setting is defined as non-motorized, self-propelled transportation, which may include bicycle, foot, baby stroller, roller blade, snowshoe, and/or cross-country skiing.
A public scoping meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 19, 2013, from 4:45 PM to 6:15 PM at the Hondius Room of the Estes Valley Public Library, located at 335 East Elkhorn Avenue, in Estes Park. Information will be provided about the current status of this effort, and park staff will be available to answer questions. There will be a short presentation at 5:00 PM. However, the public is invited to join the meeting at any point during the scheduled time to review materials and provide comments.
The park is inviting public comments regarding potential issues and concerns that should be considered during the planning process. Comments must be in writing, and can be submitted at the meeting, by mail, or on-line. Comments are due by March 21, 2013.
Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment including your personal identifying information may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Comments may be made on-line at the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website. Although the preferred method is through the PEPC site, comments may be submitted in several ways:
By mail: Superintendent, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, CO 80517
By fax: (970) 586-1397
By email: romo_superintendent@nps.gov
Hand-deliver: Rocky Mountain National Park Headquarters, 1000 Highway 36, Estes Park, Colorado.
Once the scoping period concludes, all comments submitted will be considered. Another public meeting will be held when additional information is available on the alternatives that will be analyzed in the plan/EA. The public, agencies, and other interested parties will also have an opportunity to review and comment on the plan/EA following its release to the public.
For further information about Rocky Mountain National Park, please call the park's Information Office at (970) 586-1206.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
A public scoping meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 19, 2013, from 4:45 PM to 6:15 PM at the Hondius Room of the Estes Valley Public Library, located at 335 East Elkhorn Avenue, in Estes Park. Information will be provided about the current status of this effort, and park staff will be available to answer questions. There will be a short presentation at 5:00 PM. However, the public is invited to join the meeting at any point during the scheduled time to review materials and provide comments.
The park is inviting public comments regarding potential issues and concerns that should be considered during the planning process. Comments must be in writing, and can be submitted at the meeting, by mail, or on-line. Comments are due by March 21, 2013.
Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment including your personal identifying information may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Comments may be made on-line at the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website. Although the preferred method is through the PEPC site, comments may be submitted in several ways:
By mail: Superintendent, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, CO 80517
By fax: (970) 586-1397
By email: romo_superintendent@nps.gov
Hand-deliver: Rocky Mountain National Park Headquarters, 1000 Highway 36, Estes Park, Colorado.
Once the scoping period concludes, all comments submitted will be considered. Another public meeting will be held when additional information is available on the alternatives that will be analyzed in the plan/EA. The public, agencies, and other interested parties will also have an opportunity to review and comment on the plan/EA following its release to the public.
For further information about Rocky Mountain National Park, please call the park's Information Office at (970) 586-1206.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
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