RMNP Blog & Estes Park Blog

This morning at approximately 5:30 a.m., Wednesday, August 11, park rangers were notified of a single vehicle rollover accident near the Colorado River Trailhead on Trail Ridge Road.  The single occupant, a 45-year-old man, from Denver, Colorado, had numerous injuries and was flown by Flight for Life at 7:30 a.m. to St. Anthony Central.   The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Yesterday, Tuesday, August 10, park rangers conducted three rescue operations.  At 9:00 a.m. rangers were notified by cell phone that a 22-year-old female was 200 feet below the summit of Longs Peak at roughly 14,000 feet with a knee injury.   Andrea Soden from Boulder, Colorado, was assisted by visitors and park staff to the Boulderfield where she was flown by a helicopter to Upper Beaver Meadows at 4:00 p.m. She was taken by ground ambulance to Estes Park Medical Center.

At noon, park rangers were notified by satellite phone of a 55-year-old female who had fallen and injured her leg on the Tonahutu Trail on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.  Elizabeth Williams of Lexington, Kentucky, was roughly 10 miles from the trailhead.  Park rangers on horseback reached Williams at 5:15 p.m.  She was brought out of the backcountry by a horse.  Rangers reached the trailhead at 8:15 p.m.  She left with family members in a personal vehicle.

At 2:15 p.m., park rangers were notified by a cell phone that a 62-year-old female had fallen and broken her ankle on the Gem Lake Trail. Rangers carried Barb Smith of Denver, Colorado, roughly one quarter mile with a wheeled litter.  She was taken by ground ambulance to Estes Park Medical Center.

During the next two weeks, uneven surface conditions on the recently-reconstructed Moccasin bypass will be evaluated and corrected by contractor Lafarge North America at no additional cost to the Town of Estes Park. The bypass is currently closed from Riverside Drive near the Aerial Tramway entrance east to High Street and is scheduled to reopen Thursday morning, August 5, at 7:00 a.m. Another closure is scheduled for August 9 and 10 as the contractor grinds the repaired surface. During closures, traffic is detoured through downtown to Stanley Avenue. Motorists should watch construction signage for updates and additional information as it becomes available.

Wednesday, August 4, park rangers received a cell phone call around 11:00 am that a 31-year-old man was injured on Longs Peak.  He had been found by other hikers in “The Narrows” area close to the junction with “The Homestretch” at roughly 13,800 feet.  The initial reports indicated that he had hiked to Longs Peak the day before and had spent an unplanned night in the backcountry.  He was conscious and able to walk slowly with assistance but was unable to recall what had caused his injuries.

At 12:30 p.m. today, the Minnesota man was reported overdue by friends.  They indicated he had hiked to Longs Peak yesterday and had not returned.  Continued phone calls to park dispatch by visitors along the route, indicated that visitors were assisting the man down the route.  They were also providing dry clothing, food and water.   A park trail crew in the area reached the man at 1:10 p.m. on “The Ledges.”  Due to an assessment of injuries at that time, it was determined that the man had been struck by lightning sometime late yesterday.  He had numerous burn injuries.

The trail crew was able to provide immediate care and continued to walk the man to the Agnes Vaille shelter, a primitive historic shelter, located at “The Keyhole.”   They waited out an intense storm with lightning, hail, heavy rains and low temperatures.  Once the severe storm passed, they began walking slowly down the route and connected with park rangers at 4:10 p.m. at “The Boulderfield.”  Rangers provided more emergency medical care to the man.

The first litter team of park staff reached the patient at 5:25 p.m. Due to the severe weather in the area during the beginning of the rescue, helicopters were unable to fly.   Weather conditions improved and at approximately 6:30 p.m. Flight for Life flew the patient to St. Anthony Central.  Approximately 35 people are involved with this rescue in the field, including a paramedic from Estes Park Medical Center.  Park rescue personnel are hiking back to the trailhead and should be out of the backcountry by 11:00 p.m.

To help ensure a safe and enjoyable time for park visitors, park rangers will be increasing Law Enforcement Patrols and conducting a Sobriety Checkpoint.   This will take place during the week of August 2.

For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park please contact the park’s information office at (970) 586-1206.

The daughter of a former ranger-novelist who thrilled readers with the heroic exploits of national park rangers will present the new edition of her father’s book Bob Flame: Rocky Mountain Ranger during an evening program at 7:30 p.m. Friday, August 13, in the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center at Rocky Mountain National Park.

Patricia Yeager Washburn, daughter of Dorr G. Yeager, Rocky Mountain National Park’s first chief naturalist and author of Bob Flame: Rocky Mountain Ranger, will discuss her father’s eventful life and the latest edition of the classic book.  Author Yeager took ranger Flame and his heroic colleagues on thrilling rescues, duels with poachers and perilous patrols into the mountain wilds. First released in 1935, the novel helped define the image of the modern national park ranger.

The incidents depicted in the book are taken from actual adventures shared by Yeager and his best friend, John McLaughlin, chief ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park during the early 1930s, when Yeager was a ranger in the park. “I realize that much of my fascination with the thinly veiled fictional character of Bob Flame is my own joy at having grown up as a ranger kid in that era,” Washburn said.

Washburn  was  a  strong  advocate  for  publication  of the new edition recently  released  by the Rocky Mountain Nature Association in cooperation with the Estes Park Museum Friends and Foundation.  She  contributed recollections of her father to the book’s new forward materials.

Estes Park Mayor Bill Pinkham will hold the next Coffee-Chat with the Mayor on Wednesday, September 1 at 8:00 a.m. at the Estes Park Senior Center, 220 Fourth Street. The August Coffee-Chat is cancelled due to a scheduling conflict. Coffee-Chats are opportunities for community members to discuss local projects and issues with Town officials in an informal atmosphere. Coffee and pastries will be provided. The meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month at 8:00 a.m. at the Senior Center.

For more information, please call the Town of Estes Park Public Information Office at 970-577-3701.