National Park Service/FILE
An undated photo shows Mount Ypsilon in Rocky Mountain National Park, where a climber fell from one of the mountain’s ridges on Sunday.
CNN
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A 26-year-old woman from Boulder, Colorado, died Sunday after falling about 500 feet while free climbing in the state’s Rocky Mountain National Park, the park said.
The unidentified woman’s 27-year-old climbing partner called park rangers to report that his partner had fallen from Blitzen Ridge on Mount Ypsilon, the National Park Service said in a release Monday.
Free-soloing is a dangerous rock climbing technique in which climbers ascend without ropes, assistance or safety equipment – leaving them unprotected in the event of a fall.
Search and rescue team members reached the climbing partner Sunday night, who was uninjured, but his location required assistance from the Colorado Air National Guard, the park said. A helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base was used to evacuate the man.
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Early Monday morning, a search and rescue team cleared the area above Lake Ypsilon by helicopter to prepare for the recovery of the woman’s body. The body was later transported to another area of the park and then turned over to the medical examiner’s office, which will determine the cause of death, the release said.
This A second death was reported This month in Rocky Mountain National Park. A 25-year-old man died last week after falling and being dragged underwater at the park’s West Creek Falls.
