 Wild Basin Bridge September 2022; NPS/ROMO photo The Saint Vrain Bridge on the Wild Basin Trail is now open to pedestrian traffic. Rocky Mountain National Park trail crews will continue working on the bridge today, putting on the hand rail, as well as early next week.  Wild Basin Bridge Work September 2022; Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park
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 Recovery efforts on Longs Peak Saturday, September 17 2022; Photo Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park RMNP UPDATE - September 20, 2022 On Sunday, September 18, recovery operations took place for Russell Jacobs, 25, from Westminster, Colorado near the Keyhole Route on Longs Peak. Rocky Mountain National Park's Search and Rescue Team contracted with Trans Aero helicopter to assist with prepositioning park rangers and aerial recovery operations. Jacobs’ body was recovered at approximately 5 p.m. Sunday night by helicopter and transferred to the Boulder County Coroner’s Office. Late Friday afternoon, September 16, Jacobs contacted a friend via cellular phone that he was lost and that the weather was deteriorating rapidly. Jacobs was unprepared for winter conditions or to spend an unplanned night at elevations above 13,000 feet. This information was relayed to park rangers. Park rangers were briefly able to contact Jacobs via text message to ascertain his location and learned he was going to try to move toward the Agnes Vaille Shelter. Communication with him was then lost. Members from Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue Team began searching in the Boulder Field and Keyhole area of Longs Peak on Friday afternoon. Search efforts were hampered by accumulating snow, ice, 35 plus mile per hour winds, below freezing temperatures, night fall and bitter wind chill. Rangers were able to reach the Agnes Vaille Shelter and could not locate the subject. The search team set up shelter in the Boulder Field overnight in case the subject was still attempting to reach the trailhead. Searchers in the field reported snow and sleet continuing through the night in the search area. Search efforts were started prior to sunrise on Saturday morning. Rangers reported continued winter like conditions in the area. A clearing in the weather allowed for Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance to fly over the search area to look for anyone in distress while rangers continued to search in the Boulder Field. The man’s body was located approximately 80 feet above The Ledges by park visitors. The Boulder County Coroner’s office will release the cause of death.  RMNP Search and Rescue Team Members Recovery Efforts Longs Peak September 17, 2022; Photo Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park September 17 2022  View of the vehicle, approximately 500 feet below Trail Ridge Road; NPS/ROMO photos At approximately 8:50 p.m. on Thursday, September 1, 2022, Rocky Mountain National Park received a call from a visitor traveling on Trail Ridge Road who saw a vehicle off road. A small SUV with one occupant had driven off Trail Ridge Road east of Gore Range Overlook, and the vehicle came to rest approximately 500-feet down the steep slope. While the occupant was being rescued, Trail Ridge Road was temporarily closed for two hours. The occupant, a 54-year old man from Florida, walked up from the vehicle with assistance from park staff and the Estes Valley Fire Protection District and was transported out of the park by Estes Park Health ambulance. Trail Ridge Road was temporarily closed again the morning of September 2, for approximately 4 hours as park staff and Monarch Towing Company worked to extract the vehicle and all associated debris. In addition to the park's Search and Rescue team and law enforcement staff, we would like to thank partner agencies who provided key support on this incident, including the Estes Valley Fire Protection District and Estes Park Health. This incident is under investigation. No further information is available.  NPS search and rescue staff and Estes Valley Fire Protection District work to set up lines to help the occupant walk up the steep slope to Trail Ridge Road; NPS/ROMO photo  Staff work to safely extract the vehicle from a location 500-feet below Trail Ridge Road; NPS/ROMO photo  Visitors crowd a popular elk-rut viewing area. NPS/ROMO photo RMNP UPDATE - September 1, 2022 Beginning on September 1, park officials will put annual closures in place for travel on foot or horse off established roadways or designated trails from 5 p.m. to 10 a.m. In 2020, the closure time extended to 10 a.m. from 7 a.m. due to a significant increase in visitors approaching elk when the morning meadow closures lifted. These closures last through October 31 and are effective in Horseshoe Park, Upper Beaver Meadows, Moraine Park, Harbison Meadow and Holzwarth Meadow in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Fishing in the Fall River, Thompson River or Colorado River within the posted areas remain the same as previous years and are closed from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. The purpose of the closures is to prevent disturbance and harassment of elk during their fall mating period and to enhance visitor elk viewing opportunities. As always, elk calling and the use of spotlights or vehicle headlights for spotting wildlife is prohibited in Rocky Mountain National Park. |
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