‘Experienced’ Climber Identified After 400-foot Fall While Hiking in Colorado

A routine hiking trip turned into tragedy as a New York native fell 400-feet to his death while in Colorado, per local authorities.

Noted ‘experienced’ hiker Herbert “Hal” Wise was on a solo trip to the Rock of Ages Trail on Wilson Peak when he fell.

By the time that the first rescuers made their way to Wise, it was clear that he was already gone.

The 53-year-old Rochester, NY native succumbed to a head injury that he suffered from the impact his fall. Another climber saw the fall and made the 911 call, per the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office.

“The victim was recovered and transferred to the San Miguel County Coroner. The four hour mission was conducted with the assistance of Highland Helicopter out of Durango. The San Miguel Sheriff’s Office and SAR extend our deepest sympathies to the victim’s family,” said the office in a Facebook post.

His obituary noted that he was a very active mountain climber and had climbed all 46 Adirondack peaks as well as numerous other mountains.

Moments like these are important to take as a warning that no matter how experienced and skilled of a climber you are, something unexpected can happen. It is important to take as many safety precautions as possible.

The Rock of Ages trail is the most popular route taken by those trying to climb Wilson Peak, which is where Wise was trying to get to. It also leads through Mount Wilson and the El Diente Peak.

Wilson Peak is in the Lizard Head Wilderness and is the highest point in all of San Miguel County, making it easy to see why an avid climber would be interested in such a journey.

Even though it is the easiest way to get to the peak, Rock of Ages is still considered to be a very challenging climb. There is frequently ice and snow that can cause a little bit of uneasiness.

Visitors are encouraged to bring spikes along with them to make it a little bit easier and safer near the top.

It’s fairly uncommon to run into many other climbers on a trip, so the other climber seeing it and helping him be found so quickly was a lucky development.