Bad Gets Worse

Some things just happen, but it's horrible when the deck stacks up against you. Tragedy struck on Colorado's 14037 ft. Little Bear Peak 6/15/2010. Two young climbers Kevin Hayne 18, and Travis Winder 17, were allegedly close to summiting Little Bear when they were halted at the "The Hourglass" by iced covered conditions (The Hourglass is a gully of water-polished granite, 20 to 30 feet wide approximately 400 feet long, and very steep). The two young men were trying to use a near by ledge to bypass the obstacle when Kevin fell several hundred yards. The following is an excerpt from Travis Winder's blog on 14ers.com according to Alomosa News. "When I got to him he was breathing heavily and both his arms looked broken, both of our spot trackers malfunctioned at a terrible time," wrote the poster. "I waited 30 minutes by chance that the distress signal did go out, tried to comfort Kevin, and after no response from either Kevin or search and rescue, I made the hardest decision of my life and had to hike out, leaving my bruised and bloody partner behind." (Please check the recall post on Spot Trackers) Three hours had passed since Travis Winder had left his friend. He completed the full descent and had to drive back to Alamosa for help. As if the fall, the malfunctioning of the Spot Trackers, and the time lost trying to find help weren't bad enough, the CH-47 Chinook Helicopter used for the rescue struck it's tail rotor into the terrain while trying to land. Thankfully none of the crew on board were injured and they were able to safely land the Helicopter in an alternate spot. However, the spot turned out to be 2,000 ft. lower than Kevin Hayne. When they finally reached him it was to late, he had perished. Kevin Hayne was a resident of Highlands Ranch, Colorado and said to be an experienced mountain climber. He was the valedictorian of his high school, and had a promising future ahead of him. His loss is a devastating blow to mountaineering. I would like to close with a short message to Travis. What happened up there was out of your control. For any chance of Kevin's survival, however hard it might have been, you made the right choice by leaving him to get help. Our hearts go out to you as well as the rest of his friends and family, no one should have to make such a hard decision. It's a sad, sad loss, but your efforts to save your friend were valiant and brave! R.I.P. Kevin, you will be missed by many.

A memorial service is scheduled for next week at Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.