Rockfall on Hallets?

Wow first Meeker now Hallets, what's next? I think both were south faces, the descent on Notchtop is south facing and steep, oh the Petit Grapon, and all mixed up on Thatchtop, and Zowie, and of course the boulder field below Spearhead, McHenry's

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Northcutt Carter starting pitches fell down in the early nineties...just a reminder....gravity and mountains never rest

I think the question mark in the title can be replaced with exclamation points.

This is the basic mountain building process that formed the Rockies. An ancient plateau was uplifted and erosion carved away at it forming the mountain peaks, rock faces and the boulders. Quite a spectacular event and I hope no one was near that rockfall. 

[edit] Whoops.. this was already shared.  I got an error message from the original, but no longer.

Wish it was original sound.. but that angle is absolutely nuts.

Amazing this mass wasting event was documented on video..... Geologic time includes now. 

Denver 7 News had some coverage of the boulderers' story behind the video from directly below. One of the news channels posted the the video with the start keeping the original audio.

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/rockslide-reported-on-south-side-of-hallett-peak-in-rocky-mountain-national-park

Did the formation seem unstable days, weeks or months before the event?

climber patwrote:

Did the formation seem unstable days, weeks or months before the event?

Last time I hiked it, it did feel a bit hollow so I put a big chalk X on it.

Great first hand POV story up thread, thanks.

Ross Swansonwrote:

Wow first Meeker now Hallets,

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What happened with meeker?

TJ Bindseilwrote:

What happened with meeker?

https://www.dailycamera.com/2022/05/29/crews-respond-help-climbers-in-rocky-mountain-national-park/

climber patwrote:

Did the formation seem unstable days, weeks or months before the event?

To be clear, it was not simply rockfall calving off a cliffside. It did not affect published rock routes, but looks like it did impact some bouldering.

The 1975 Preliminary Map of Landslide Deposits by Colton and others, shows the area as a known landslide deposit. The huge outcrops of rock seen in the video and circled in the Park's Google Earth picture (before the landslide) were sitting on top of all that landslide debris that moved. There is probably more detailed mapping available. It appears the event was a reactivation of historic landslide debris, likely due to water and weathering since there was no seismic trigger. The high temperatures earlier in June caused rapid snowmelt and some flooding in the Park that likely contributed to movement. I'm sure the geologists are up there now assessing and documenting. It will be interesting to read a professional summary of the event.

ryan lairdwrote:

To be clear, it was not simply rockfall calving off a cliffside. It did not affect published rock routes, but looks like it did impact some bouldering.

Right - in contrast on Meeker, there are comments going back at least 2 years that a feature on P3 was taking larger and larger cams.  

One of my personal nightmares - to have half a crack pitch widen or fall off and suddenly I have zero gear in.  It’s happened to several pitches, but I’ve never heard of anyone being on one at the time.

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/rockslide-reported-on-south-side-of-hallett-peak-in-rocky-mountain-national-park

These are big mountains.  Things like this happen.  If you're in the wrong place. . . .

For those interested in climbing the other side of Hallett (Culp Bossier, etc) those climbs and their descent are unaffected. 

J Rockwrote:

For those interested in climbing the other side of Hallett (Culp Bossier, etc) those climbs and their descent are unaffected. 

For.

Now.

<Dramatic horror music sound>

Wild.

Something something Colorado is choss?

Has anyone experienced rock fall on the N. Face of Hallet since the massive slide?

I'm curious if the stability of the whole massif was affected/effected.

Thanks

No.  Nobody has.