Two hikers were left stunned after encountering a frightening 20-foot-tall figure clinging to the side of a Colorado mountain.
Jessee Clauson, 29, and Camille Avarella, 28, were descending Longs Peak in the Rockies when they unwittingly caught the lanky gray creature on camera as it appeared to scale the crag.
The Denver-based duo didn’t see the beast at the time of their trek on August 24 – but noticed it lurking in the backdrop of a photograph as they reminisced about the adventure weeks later.
‘I was shocked to the bone when we were looking at the picture,’ behavior analyst Clauson told DailyMail.com.
Two hikers have been left stunned after encountering a frightening 20-foot-tall figure clinging to the side of a Colorado mountain (a zoomed out version pictured)
![Two hikers have been left stunned after encountering a frightening 20-foot-tall figure clinging to the side of a Colorado mountain (a zoom on the specimen is pictured)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/09/04/21/89281435-13812559-image-m-3_1725481698659.jpg)
Two hikers have been left stunned after encountering a frightening 20-foot-tall figure clinging to the side of a Colorado mountain (a zoom on the specimen is pictured)
![Jessee Clauson (right), 29, and Camille Avarella, 28, were descending Longs Peak in the Rockies when they caught the lanky gray creature on camera](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/09/04/21/89284997-13812559-image-a-7_1725482359382.jpg)
Jessee Clauson (right), 29, and Camille Avarella, 28, were descending Longs Peak in the Rockies when they caught the lanky gray creature on camera
Recalling the hike, she added: ‘We didn’t see anything.
‘We didn’t take the picture because we saw that thing – we just took it because the mountain range was pretty.’
Clauson said they set off on the intrepid walk at 2am in order to conquer the 14,000-foot crag by dusk the next day.
They had been walking for seven hours when they snapped the figure just after scaling the peak at around 9am, she said.
‘We were in full adrenaline mode so we weren’t really paying attention,’ Clauson told DailyMail.com.
Graphic designer Avarella explained that it was while they were sharing the photographs with family on a plasma screen TV that they first noticed the creature.
They zoomed in after noticing an odd white coloration on the side of the crag.
‘Camille’s dad said, “what the hell, that thing is at least 20 foot or so” and Camille was like, “should we call the rangers?”’ Clauson recalled.
![The duo didn't see the beast at the time of their trek on August 24 - but noticed it lurking in the backdrop of a photograph as they reminisced about the adventure weeks later](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/09/04/21/89284995-13812559-image-a-6_1725482355628.jpg)
The duo didn’t see the beast at the time of their trek on August 24 – but noticed it lurking in the backdrop of a photograph as they reminisced about the adventure weeks later
![Jessee Clauson (right), 29, and Camille Avarella, 28, were descending Longs Peak in the Rockies when they caught the lanky gray creature on camera](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/09/04/21/89286347-13812559-image-m-5_1725481855948.jpg)
Jessee Clauson (right), 29, and Camille Avarella, 28, were descending Longs Peak in the Rockies when they caught the lanky gray creature on camera
‘We were all like: “What the hell is that?”‘
‘It could be a rock,’ Avarella added. ‘But it has all the features of something that is human.’
‘We are open to interpretations,’ said Clauson, adding that they posted the pictures on a Facebook group for Colorado hikers, and dozens of commenters were disturbed by the phenomenon.
‘It was so far away it couldn’t really do anything to us. I like to think it was an alien.’
‘The anatomy is so human like, it’s freaky as hell,’ added Avarella.
The duo said that although they’re keen to see the creature again, they won’t be embarking on the 15-hour trek ever again.
‘I hope someone else does it and sees it,’ Clauson said.