Bad news - Radical Hill Death (4x4)

[cewtwo]

I rode this rail on Saturday prior to the accident. As I was leaving the area, I wondered why two county police cruisers, an ambulance, a fire & rescue ambulance, and a fire & rescue general purpose vehicle was doing heading back toward where I came from...

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6491052

Jeep falls off summit; one dead, one injured

The vehicle tumbled off a steep trail in Summit County, where rescuers also searched for a climber who didn't return and aided an injured hiker.
By David Olinger
Denver Post Staff Writer

A woman was killed Saturday and her companion severely injured when their Jeep tumbled from the top of a steep off-road trail in Summit County.

The fatal accident happened at the top of Radical Hill, a 12,500-foot summit that can be reached along a narrow road used by hikers and four-wheel-drive vehicles.

At the summit, "the vehicle came off and went approximately a half mile down the side of a mountain before coming to a rest," said Joe Ben Slivka, a spokesman for the Summit County Rescue Group.

He described the Radical Hill trail, at the southern edge of Summit County, as very popular with Jeep drivers. "It's a difficult four-wheel-drive trail, but not impossible," he said. "We do have a fair number of accidents that occur there annually."

The names of the woman who died and the man in the vehicle, who was flown out with a head injury, were not released. The accident was discovered late in the afternoon.

Saturday was a busy day for the rescue group. After dark, rescuers were searching for a 40-year-old man who failed to return from a hike up Grays Peak, a popular 14,000-foot mountain in Summit County.

His car had been found, but the man was still missing late Saturday. He had left to climb the mountain in the morning, apparently alone, and the rescue group was alerted after he failed to return home in the afternoon.

Slivka said a rescue helicopter tried to search for him, but there was too little time left before sunset. "We do have people searching right now," he said at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the rescue group was called to help a hiker who fell near Lower Cataract Lake in Summit County. She had a broken ankle, Slivka said.

 

[droopey]

He described the Radical Hill trail, at the southern edge of Summit County, as very popular with Jeep drivers. "It's a difficult four-wheel-drive trail, but not impossible," he said. "We do have a fair number of accidents that occur there annually."

Sad to hear of a fellow jeeper or any other outdoor enthusiast getting severely hurt or other wise injured, heart felt prayers to all involved parties.
It would be a travesty if they were to jump the gun and close this trail down for good.

 

[currupt4130]

Yet another reason you never go alone.

 

[cewtwo]

Well, I have heard a lot more since the initial posting. The incident did not occur where we had been during the day. We may well have talked to the people involved.

Radical Hill is one of the peaks on the continental divide. The Jeep trails often share the real estate with the national Continental divide trail.

The news stated that there was a group of vehicles that were there. They were on the Middle Fork of the Swan below the crest of the hill when the incident occurred. Another vehicle in the group actually retrieved the people from the vehicle that fell and rushed with them to an emergency station.

We had talked to people in a couple of SUV's at the top of the severe trail leading up to the summit of Radical Hill from the East side. We talked for quite a while about the area, about the herd of Mountain goats that were there and other ways to get down off of the mountain. They did not want to go down the severe side. They were actually asking about the area where this tragic accident occured. We suggested that they take a trail down to Montezuma instead as they had tires that were getting bald on one of the vehicles.

I am so hoping that we did not direct them to their demise.

It does bring the reality of what can happen back-country home. We could not have missed the area by a half an hour.

Very tragic and very sad!

 

[BaconYJ]

I was just on Radical Hill a week ago Monday with the family on our dirt bikes and quads. 3/4 the way up Radical maybe 40 yards blow the highest switch back there is now a 1000+ pound rock in the middle of the trail. I am assuming they got to the rock and tried to back back up the hill. Even if they could get around it there is still a ton of snow covering the trail further down where it made even a motorcycle nearly too wide to squeeze past.

It sucks that this happened in such a beautiful part of the mountains or anywhere for that matter.

 

[prariepunk]

Their families are in my prayers!

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

I was told this is a pic of the area.

 

[cewtwo]

It is.

That is the final steep just prior to the sharp curve that takes you to the summit.

On a Colorado Jeep board, it was reported that a '60s CJ slipped off the steep yesterday, throwing the occupants that were not belted in. No injuries, though...

This shot is looking at the same steep from the other direction.

This shot is from across the valley (Webster Pass - Last year).

 

[cewtwo]

There was another accident in the area this weekend. A young rider on an ATV rolled the rig he was riding when he turned a switchback corner heading up to Webster Pass. No one was hurt but the rig will need some repair.

I'll post pictures later.

 

[cewtwo]

This is the vehicle that flopped from the first post - I know the area (top of the Middle Fork of the Swan trail).

This is from last weekend. The driver was an older boy and was thrown early. He was wearing a helmet and had a bruised leg from where the ATV landed a glancing blow off of it.

This is the ATV that rolled (and rolled and rolled).

Where the ATV fell from (the upper switchback).

Use it as a lesson. Be careful out there...