 RMNP UPDATE - June 30, 2022
All areas in Chaos Canyon to the west of Lake Haiyaha are closed in Rocky Mountain National Park to all users due to significant rockfall activity and continuing potential impacts from forecasted precipitation. On June 28, 2022, at approximately 4:30 pm a large rockfall event occurred on the south slope of Hallett Peak, resulting in sliding rock falling into Upper Chaos Canyon. The area of the rockfall event is highly unstable. Additionally, rainstorms are in the forecast for this area through July 3, which may contribute to additional rockfall activity. This closure will remain in effect until the projected rainstorms pass and the slope can be evaluated by National Park Service geologists. The hiking trail to Lake Haiyaha, Lake Haiyaha itself, and hiking trails on the north side of Hallett Peak remain open. The bouldering area in lower Chaos Canyon, on the north and east shore of Lake Haiyaha, will remain open. There have been no reported injuries from Tuesday’s rockfall event and there are no designated hiking trails in the closure area. Chaos Canyon is a popular area for bouldering. The cause of this rockfall event on Hallett Peak remains unknown. Park visitors planning to recreate in rocky terrain areas of the park are reminded to always practice due diligence and use caution. Rocky slopes on and near mountain peaks can be unstable. Recreation users should know their own limits and choose routes that are within the abilities of everyone in their party. For additional information on Rocky Mountain National Park, visit www.nps.gov/romo or call the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206.
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 NPS Director Sams speaks with Park Ranger Cynthia Langguth at the Alpine Visitor Center in Rocky Mountain National Park. This is the highest elevation visitor center within the National Park Service, at 11,796 feet, with amazing views of the alpine tundra. NPS photo. RMNP UPDATE - June 30, 2022 National Park Service Director Chuck Sams visited Rocky Mountain National Park this week to see how the park is working to tell a more inclusive history and to announce $20 million in Fiscal Year 2022 investments from the Great American Outdoors Act and President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will increase fire resiliency and upgrade and modernize key park infrastructure needed to support growing visitation. Sams also met with employee groups to hear directly from them on how he can best support them in Washington.
During the visit, Director Sams announced the NPS has awarded a $19.9 million contract funded by the Great American Outdoors Act’s Legacy Restoration Fund to rehabilitate water, wastewater, and electrical distribution systems and improve accessibility, address fire risk, and modernize the Moraine Park Campground. This project will also relocate electric powerlines in the campground underground to reduce system damage caused by snow, wind, falling tree branches, electrical hazards or wildfire and will add electrical hook-ups to approximately 25% of the campsites. Additionally, there will be improvements to the ranger station, entrance kiosk, accessibility and drainage in the campground. He also celebrated a Fiscal Year 2022 investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for Rocky Mountain National Park. Fuel treatment projects, including at Deer Mountain, will build on the park’s prior fuel reduction work and further reduce the risk of catastrophic fires fueled by climate change. This is part of the $103 million investment announced by the Department for wildfire risk reduction efforts throughout the country. The Director was briefed on the park’s fire management program and saw the impacts of the devastating October 2020 East Troublesome Fire, which fueled by record-high temperatures and drought became the largest fire in Rocky Mountain National Park’s 107-year history and burned over 21,000 acres within the park. Sams heard firsthand how past fuels mitigation projects aided firefighting efforts during the East Troublesome Fire in 2020. Fire fighters were able to use these past projects as anchors to prevent the fire from moving into the surrounding community of Estes Park. Sams visited the west side of the park to see how Rocky Mountain National Park is working with affiliated Tribes to tell a more complete and accurate history and planning for new exhibits for the Kawuneeche Visitor Center. These exhibits, which will directly incorporate Tribal voices, showcase important Indigenous connections, encouraging visitors to the park to see the park not only as a beautiful natural setting but also as a place where Native peoples hold strong historical and contemporary connections. Throughout his two days in the park Sams met with many park staff and volunteers and visited with the interns from the park’s inaugural Diversity Internship Cohort Program. The program is hosting over 20 interns to increase the diversity of NPS staff through development and mentoring of interns within a variety of park workgroups and partners. www.nps.gov Rocky Mountain National Park seeks public input on a proposal to construct new housing on the west side of the park to replace employee housing that was lost in the East Troublesome Fire.
The National Park Service is proposing to construct a new housing complex inside the park that would support 22 seasonal beds. This proposed complex would be located near the existing park housing area on the west side of the park. This new complex would consist of two dormitories, ten residential units, three recreational vehicle sites, and a residential support facility that would include laundry, showers, and a communal kitchen. The NPS would also construct new utilities, replace a water well and associated infrastructure at the existing park housing area, and remove or abandon old utilities infrastructure that was destroyed at the former housing area across from the Green Mountain Trailhead. On October 21, 2020, the East Troublesome Fire made an 18-mile and over 100,000-acre run in Grand County, Colorado. Rocky Mountain National Park lost numerous structures, including 18 historic buildings at the former Green Mountain-Onahu seasonal housing area, 3 RV sites and all associated utilities. The East Troublesome Fire was the largest fire in Rocky Mountain National Park’s 107-year history. It burned over 21,000 acres within the park. This proposed project is critical for recruiting and retaining seasonal staff to work on the west side of the park. These employees work mid-April through mid-October. Seasonal staff provide essential visitor services and carry out critical park operations. These positions include rangers, park guides, fee and campground staff, trail crew members, buildings and utilities staff, and custodians. Visit Proposal to Construct New Housing Destroyed by the East Troublesome Fire - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) for further information. Interested in learning more? Members of the public are invited to join a virtual meeting on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 from 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm MT. Park staff will provide a short presentation and will be available to answer public questions. Advance registration is required. To register, visit: https://swca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mCkNrLxBQhaHy54yUPiXxQ Comments on this proposed project will be accepted beginning July 1 and must be received in writing by close of business on July 31, 2022. Comments can be submitted at the following web address: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/reconstructCRDhousing. Comments may also be submitted via mail to: Rocky Mountain National Park Office of the Superintendent 1000 US Hwy 36 Estes Park, CO 80517 Please be advised, before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. Although you can ask in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee we will be able to do so. For more information on Rocky Mountain National Park, please call the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/romo.  Rockslide on the back side of Hallett Peak On Tuesday, June 28, 2022 at approximately 4:30 pm MT a large rockfall event occurred in Rocky Mountain National Park on the south side of Hallet Peak, resulting in sliding rock falling into Upper Chaos Canyon.
Visitors planning to recreate in Upper Chaos Canyon or on the south slopes of Hallet Peak are advised to avoid traveling in the area. It will take some time for the slope to stabilize and there is a significant possibility that additional rockfall may occur at any time.  Fuels mitigation work near Lily Lake and Twin Sisters in Rocky Mountain National Park/ Photo courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park The reduction of hazardous fuels is a significant preventative management tool for managing wildfire near structures and communities. These projects are done to protect life and property and enhance the safety of firefighters and their ability to manage fire within the park.
When fighting the East Troublesome Fire in 2020 and the Fern Lake Fire in 2012, firefighters were able to take advantage of previous and existing prescribed fire and hazardous fuels treatment areas that provided a buffer between the fire and the town of Estes Park. Prior hazard fuels projects were instrumental in stopping the fire from jumping Bear Lake Road and Trail Ridge Road. Hazardous fuels reduction projects take place in strategic locations within Rocky Mountain National Park. The most recent project will take place within the Rocky Mountain National Park boundary near Lily Lake. Work will include removing dead trees, the lower limbs of remaining trees, dead and down logs and ladder fuels which can carry a fire burning in low-growing vegetation to surrounding taller vegetation. Resulting woody materials will be piled on site and burned during winter when conditions allow. Fuels reduction projects cannot be a stand-alone defense against wildfire. It is advisable that additional fuels reduction be completed on private property to meet Firewise mitigation and Hardening Your Home efforts. To learn more about how you can protect your home and help firefighters, please visit: https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Wildfire/Preparing-homes-for-wildfire http://www.readyforwildfire.org/Hardening-Your-Home/ For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park please visit www.nps.gov/romo or call the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206. RMNP UPDATE - June 3, 2022 Trail Ridge Road has reopened. Due to ongoing boulder removal work there is one lane of traffic near Rainbow Curve so travelers should expect delays in that area. Due to melting snow on the road and the potential for freezing temperatures visitors should be prepared for icy conditions. Because weather conditions may change rapidly, park visitors should be prepared to adjust travel plans accordingly. A timed entry reservation is required to travel Trail Ridge Road between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
 RMNP Trail Crew working on Large Boulder in the road on Trail Ridge Road_6-1-22/Photo Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park RMNP UPDATE - June 1, 2022  Photo Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park Recent winter storms have brought fresh spring snow to the high elevation areas of Rocky Mountain National Park. Rocky's snowplow operators and trail crew have been hard at work to plow and re-open Trail Ridge Road, encountering drifts of 1 to 3 feet. Due to the amount of snow on the road above 10,000 feet and a large boulder that has fallen in the road, Trail Ridge Road is still closed on the east side of the park at Many Parks Curve and on the west side of the park at the Colorado River Trailhead. The road will re-open when it is safe for vehicles. For the most current information on Trail Ridge Road please call the park's recorded phoneline at 970-586-1222 or follow us on Twitter @RockyNPS.  Two RMNP Snowplows working to clear Trail Ridge Road on 5-31-22/Photo courtesy of Rocky Mountain National Park RMNP UPDATE - May 31, 2022 Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team members took advantage of a weather window earlier today to conduct recovery efforts by helicopter for the deceased male from Sunday’s avalanche. The man’s body was flown to a landing zone in the Upper Beaver Meadows area of Rocky Mountain National Park and transferred to the Boulder County Coroner’s Office. Boulder County Coroner’s office will not release positive identification until completion of an autopsy.
As is standard, the cause, circumstances and conditions of the rock fall and avalanche on Sunday are under investigation. At 9 a.m. Sunday morning, May 29, a rock fall and avalanche were reported near the Dreamweaver Couloir on Mount Meeker in Rocky Mountain National Park. The rock fall and avalanche were witnessed by climbers in the area. Three individuals were involved in the incident including a female and two males. Due to the location and severity of injuries of Michael Grieg, a 27-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue team members requested assistance from a Colorado National Guard helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base to extricate him via a hoist operation, using a winch operated cable. This occurred at approximately 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 29, when there was a brief weather window. Rocky Mountain Rescue assisted with the helicopter hoist operations. Grieg was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows, transferred to Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance and then flown to Medical Center of the Rockies. Lillian Martinez, a 24-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, suffered minor injuries and was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows at 4:15 p.m. Sunday, May 29 where she was transferred by ground to further medical care. Rescue teams worked in terrain above 11,500 feet and at times experienced winter like weather conditions throughout Sunday. At approximately 5:15 p.m. Sunday night, the deceased male was located by searchers who were using a RECCO device and probing in avalanche debris. Monday's winter weather conditions prevented the recovery from taking place. Several agencies assisted Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue team on Sunday with this operation including Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Flight for Life, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Front Range Rescue Dogs, Colorado National Guard, and Med Evac. The public is asked to please respect the privacy of the individuals, friends and families of those involved in Sunday's incident. They are not interested in conducting interviews or speaking about their experience.  Rescue operations staged at Upper Beaver Meadows on May 29; photo taken by Barb Boyer Buck from Many Parks Curve (Trail Ridge Road). RMNP UPDATE - May 29, 2022, 4:06 pm Incident On Dreamweaver Couloir On Mount Meeker In Rocky Mountain National Park At approximately 9 a.m. this morning a rock fall and avalanche were reported near the Dreamweaver Couloir on Mt. Meeker. The rock fall and avalanche were witnessed by climbers in the area. Three individuals were involved in the incident including a female and two males. The female suffered minor injuries and is still on scene. Due to the location and severity of injuries of one of the males, Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue team members requested assistance from a Colorado National Guard helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base to extricate him via a hoist operation, using a winch operated cable. This occurred at approximately 2 p.m. when there was a brief weather window. Rocky Mountain Rescue assisted with the helicopter hoist operations. The man was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows, transferred to Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance and then flown to Medical Center of the Rockies. Rescue teams are working in terrain above 11,500 feet and are experiencing winter like weather conditions. A search is continuing for the second male who is still missing in the area where the avalanche occurred. Several agencies are assisting Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue team with this operation including Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Flight for Life, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Front Range Rescue Dogs, Colorado National Guard, and Med Evac. A temporary flight restriction is in place. Upper Beaver Meadows Road is currently closed in the park for potential continued air operations. No further information is available at this time.  Avalanche debris on Dreamweaver Couloir on Mount Meeker May 29, 2022; Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park RMNP UPDATE - May 29, 2022, 9:04 pm Deceased Male Located In Avalanche Debris; Other Two Individuals Rescued At approximately 5:15 p.m. tonight a deceased male was located by searchers who were using a RECCO device and probing in avalanche debris. The recovery operation will be delayed due to winter weather conditions. The ages and hometowns of the three individuals are being withheld until family members are notified. At 9 a.m. this morning a rock fall and avalanche were reported near the Dreamweaver Couloir on Mt. Meeker. The rock fall and avalanche were witnessed by climbers in the area.  Incident Mount Meeker May 29 2022; Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park Three individuals were involved in the incident including a female and two males. Due to the location and severity of injuries of one of the males, Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue team members requested assistance from a Colorado National Guard helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base to extricate him via a hoist operation, using a winch operated cable. This occurred at approximately 2 p.m. when there was a brief weather window.  Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team members Mount Meeker incident May 29, 2022; Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain Rescue assisted with the helicopter hoist operations. The man was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows, transferred to Northern Colorado Med Evac air ambulance and then flown to Medical Center of the Rockies. The female suffered minor injuries and was flown to Upper Beaver Meadows at 4:15 p.m. where she was transferred by ground to further medical care. Rescue teams worked in terrain above 11,500 feet and at times experienced winter like weather conditions throughout the day.  Photograph from helicopter of Dreamweaver Couloir slide on Mount Meeker; Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park Several agencies assisted Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue team with this operation including Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Flight for Life, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Front Range Rescue Dogs, Colorado National Guard, and Med Evac. No further information is available at this time.  Helicopter operations during incident on Mount Meeker May 29 2022; Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park Trail Ridge Road opens for the season, timed-entry reservations are required starting today5/27/2022 RMNP Update - May 27, 2022  Trail Ridge Road on May 27, 2022; NPS/ROMO photo This afternoon, Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park opened for the season. Due to melting snow on the road and the potential for freezing temperatures visitors should be prepared for icy conditions. At this time, night-time closures will not be implemented. However, because weather conditions may change rapidly, and winter weather is forecast for higher elevations this holiday weekend, including freezing temperatures and some snow accumulation, park visitors should be prepared to adjust travel plans accordingly and are encouraged to call the park’s Trail Ridge Road recorded status phone line at (970) 586-1222. Park staff will update the recorded line when/if the road status changes.
Alpine Visitor Center is tentatively scheduled to open Saturday, May 28. Trail Ridge Store will likely be opening later in the week. Timed Entry Permit Reservations Effective Today, May 27 Rocky Mountain National Park is implementing a pilot timed entry permit reservation system which began today, May 27. Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the busiest national parks in the country, with over 4.4 million visitors in 2021. Visitor crowding and congestion have led to increased negative impacts to visitor and staff safety, resource protection, visitor experience and operational capacity. The park has piloted various visitor use management strategies since 2016, including first-come, first-served as well as different park wide Timed Entry Permit Reservation systems in 2020, 2021 and again in 2022. There are two types of reservations available. One permit is for the Bear Lake Road Corridor, which includes the entire corridor and access to the rest of the park. This reservation period is from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. The second permit is for the rest of Rocky Mountain National Park, excluding the Bear Lake Road corridor, and includes Trail Ridge Road. This reservation period is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Permits issued using the reservation system will allow park visitors to enter the park within two-hour windows of availability. The reservation system will apply to all areas of the park. To learn more visit https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/timed-entry-permit-system.htm Trail Ridge Road historically opens on Memorial Day weekend; last year the road opened on May 28. The earliest the road has opened was on May 7, 2002; the latest June 26, 1943. Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States, climbs to 12,183 feet and connects the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake. Trail Ridge Road officially closed for the season last year on October 25. National Park Service plow operators began clearing the snow in the middle of April. Crews from the west side of the park and crews from the east side of the park move along the road and eventually meet at the Alpine Visitor Center. The visitor center is the highest in the National Park Service, sitting at 11,796 feet above sea level. Spring storms often impact plowing activities. This year, crews ran into average to below average snowpack and a heavy spring snowstorm in late May. For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park visit www.nps.gov/romo or call the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206. For a recorded status line on Trail Ridge Road please call (970) 586-1222. |
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