A hiker on an office retreat in Colorado found out who his true friends were (none) when his co-workers left him to summit a 14er alone — leading to a rescue mission.
The group of 15 employees had set off on the Mt. Shavano trail in Chaffee County at sunrise on Friday. They then split into two groups, but for some reason that is unclear, left one of the hikers to climb on his own. After summiting at 11:30am, the lone hiker began to descend, only to become disoriented.
To make matters worse, according to the Chaffee County Search and Rescue Facebook page, personal items he had used as markers on the way up had disappeared — collected by his co-workers, who were ahead of him, on their way down.
"Concerned for himself, he sent a pin drop to co-workers already descending," CCSR said in their post. "These co-workers informed him his route was wrong and to climb back up the slope to regain the trail."
But by the time he got back on track, "a strong storm passed through the area with freezing rain and high winds, and he again became disoriented, losing cell phone signal as well."
As if that weren't enough, it took another five hours before his co-workers called in for help, and by that point, the hiker had lost his cell phone signal, and "high winds and freezing rain…made reaching the summit unsafe, and presented many difficulties for the drone operator."
It wasn't until the next day that the hiker finally got cell service, which allowed rescuers to find him. But not before falling 20 times throughout the night "on the steep slopes below Esprit point toward the North Fork," with his final fall leaving him "unable to get back up."
Fortunately, he was still conscious by the time rescuers reached him, but it's not clear what condition he was in. Sheesh. With co-workers like his, who needs a job?
Advice to his co-workers from the rescuers, as paraphrased by Advnture:
- Always hike with a partner – if your partner wants to turn back, go with them.
- Pack some bright clothing to make yourself searchable.
- Remember to pack the 10 hiking essentials in your daypack, including a light source to attract rescuers' attention.
Previously: Stranded kite surfer rescued thanks to HELP message spotted from the air
