Man Stranded on Longs Peak Ledge

denverpost.com/news/ci_2585…

Man I would hate to be stuck on Broadway without a rope right now. Slippery as all hell up there right now. More than a couple people have died falling off that ledge, hope he gets down safely. Sounds like a pretty serious hiker if he is getting up to Broadway without gear.

ChefMattThaner wrote: Sounds like a pretty serious hiker if he is getting up to Broadway without gear.

The Denver Post report (YMMV) says that he "became stranded on Broadway Ledge as he was descending from the summit." Not sure how he might have managed that - down the Notch, rather than the standard route? Thoughts and prayers for him and the SAR team.

It would be pretty scary being on Broadway with no rope right now. When he gets home safe n sound I hope he makes a healthy donation to RMR for 28 people's time... Not to mention the cost of running a helicopter up there.

Yikes, so he's already spent a night at 13,000 feet. I hope he's alright. It will sure be a learning experience for him.

Based on the article I have no idea how he did this. To even come out on any of those routes without technical gear is more foolhardy than anything I've heard of in a long time. I don't even know how you could get there without massive screaming indicators you are in the wrong place.

DOH!!

I didn't see anything in the article about this happening on his descent. It seems to me that it's more plausible that he went up Lambslide then crossed over onto Broadway.

If he truly did reach Broadway from the summit without an ice axe, it's a damned miracle. And extremely unlikely. When I did the Notch a month ago, there were already ten foot rock steps, no way he descended those in hiking boots without slipping and careening off the mountain.

The Blueprint Part Dank wrote:I didn't see anything in the article about this happening on his descent. It seems to me that it's more plausible that he went up Lambslide then crossed over onto Broadway. If he truly did reach Broadway from the summit without an ice axe, it's a damned miracle. And extremely unlikely. When I did the Notch a month ago, there were already ten foot rock steps, no way he descended those in hiking boots without slipping and careening off the mountain.

Looks like you are correct. I would have turned around at a thousand spots before getting here though. Either he's got balls of steel or brains of mush.

"who spent the night at roughly 13,000 feet after being separated from a friend while ascending Longs Peak from the western side of Chasm Lake via Lambs Slide"

The daily camera currently reads:

"Frappier became stranded in an "extremely precarious" position on Broadway Ledge yesterday as he was descending from the summit."

Inconsistent or incorrect details are pretty much par for the course when the media reports on any technical subject, so who knows what actually happened. Ending up on Broadway while ascending seems substantially more likely than descending without gear. Hell, if you managed to descend to Broadway you've already made it through the hard part.

There is no way he get here on the descent. There is no way not covered in snow, ice, mud right now. There is no way to walk down to Broadway (unless I have been missing it for the past 20 years). Had to be on the way up. that being said, still not sure what this kid thought he has ahead of him. Nothing along any of the possible routes up would have been easy without gear, and none of them look like they are going to get any better, usually worse. Besides, if he had made it down to Broadway from the summit he is apparently capable of getting down the rest no problem. I'm guessing he was very worried/stressed/scared and was trying to find his partner and just kept bearing down and didn't really pay attention to what he was getting himself into.

Scott McMahon wrote:Either he's got balls of steel or brains of mush.

He's a 19-year old kid with "no technical climbing equipment and not an experienced mountain climber". I'm guessing he's more of the latter.

Just to update, they were able to get to him just after 6pm using a chopper from Bridger-Teton NF for a short-haul operation. They waited until later in the day for a shadow to be cast on the face to slow the melting snow/ice from falling.

denverpost.com/news/ci_2585…

One of the things that grinds my gears is all the people on The DC who are chiming in with the typical people make mistakes BS. Aside from the major financial and resource drain he caused, he put the lives of all those SAR volunteers in danger. He willingly went up a major mountaineering route without any equipment or preparation. I wonder if they would say the same thing if I climbed into the cockpit of a plane, or starting soloing up El Cap.

I just can't see how someone can "casually" end up on broadway. It's mind bottling.
My only guess is he couldn't reverse the moves onto broadway

JoeSzusz wrote:Just to update, they were able to get to him just after 6pm using a chopper from Bridger-Teton NF for a short-haul operation. They waited until later in the day for a shadow to be cast on the face to slow the melting snow/ice from falling. denverpost.com/news/ci_2585…

RMNP short on Colorado based choppers these days? Had to get one from BTNF?

WyomingSummits wrote: RMNP short on Colorado based choppers these days? Had to get one from BTNF?

Updated article says the Teton helo was used because of it's suspension capabilities.

Scott McMahon wrote: Updated article says the Teton helo was used because of it's suspension capabilities.

Didn't see that.....only saw that the Teton rangers were more qualified for that operation.....which I'm sure they see alot more of. Since they were needed, makes sense to fly down on a BTNF chopper and just use it. Some interagency training seems to be in order here....couldnt hurt to train the RMNP guys on those types of rescues.

I love how the article says a climber was stranded and in the next sentence says he had no climbing gear or mountaineering experience...

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. Come on this kid is badass and you know it, I just hope now he will run into some true old school climbers that will teach him the way. You rock kid you have the spirit of all are heroes from the good old days of true hard men. 99% of first ascents get done with out all the right gear.

Not sure that the "the spirit of all are heroes from the good old days of true hard men" involved a cell phone and the option of getting a helicopter rescue from someone else.

Ryan N wrote:I love how the article says a climber was stranded and in the next sentence says he had no climbing gear or mountaineering experience...

Umm. Was he not climbing the mountain? Hello. Should they call him a walker. A biker. A boater. I know. You think you are special cuz u got cammy things and spikie stuff and ropie shit.

But he was climbing the effen mountain.

Joe De Luca wrote:Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. Come on this kid is badass and you know it, I just hope now he will run into some true old school climbers that will teach him the way. You rock kid you have the spirit of all are heroes from the good old days of true hard men. 99% of first ascents get done with out all the right gear.

No just no.
The real bad asses are the SAR who hauled his dumbass off Broadway!