Scree field causes death of Texas hiker near Heckart Pass

A hiker between Heckart Pass and Pierre Lakes Basin died on Saturday morning in a fall over a cliff and into a gully, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office reported. The hiker, identified as Charles Smith from Garden Ridge, Texas, succumbed to his injuries from the fall, according to the initial press release from the sheriff’s office.

The incident report obtained by The Aspen Times revealed Smith and his friend, Devin McKay of New Westminster, BC, were confronted with a scree field while hiking below Heckart Pass. A scree field is a collection of rock debris at the base of a cliff that has broken off from cliffs and mountainsides.

Both were on a 9 day hike that began on July 17 when the accident occurred. Pierre Lakes Basin is located approximately 12 miles west of Aspen. The hike into Pierre Lakes Basin is approximately nine miles from the nearest trailhead.

According to the report, McKay navigated the scree field towards the trees while Smith took a different route down the scree field. While McKay was traversing through the scree, he heard a scream from behind him and saw Smith rolling down the field until he was over the ridge line and out of sight.

The report also reveals that at 10:57 a.m., Pitkin County Emergency Regional Dispatch Center (PCREDC) aired a report of a search and rescue occurring between Piers Lakes Basin and Heckart Pass. Dispatch received a Garmin inReach (GIR) SOS activation at approximately 10:52 a.m. The user sent a message, saying they’ve stopped for the night and that they were feeling weak and the terrain was grueling. Dispatch received another message at approximately 10:52 a.m. saying there had been an accident and requested for help to be sent.

Mountain Rescue Aspen (MRA) was activated to rescue the fallen hiker, and an operations leader remained in contact with McKay who was located 100 feet east of Smith. According to the report, McKay told MRA that Smith fell down a gully going west above Bear Creek, over a cliff and out of sight.

Based on the location of the search, Mountain Rescue requested help from the High Altitude Aviation Training Site of the Colorado Army National Guard out of Eagle, which sent a helicopter.

HAATS and two MRA rescue technicians were able to extract the hiker’s body using a hoist and return to Aspen. HAATS went back to the site and retrieved all remaining MRA members from the field, as well as the reporting party. 

The report states a brief list of the events from beginning to end that occurred once MRA was activated:

• 11:40 a.m.: CareFlight of the Rockies flew from Rifle.
• 12:55 p.m.: 2 MRA members boarded CareFlight and were dropped off above Smith’s location.
• 1:30 p.m.: MRA members on the ground saw McKay.
• 1:32 p.m.: MRA members headed down to Smith’s last known ping.
• 2:08 p.m.: MRA members utilized a drone to locate Smith.
• 2:15 p.m.: MRA members located Smith deceased.
• 2:28 p.m.: An investigations and a management page was sent out.
• 2:38 p.m.: The coroner was paged.
• 3:15 p.m.: Smith’s body was transported by CareFlight to the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport de-ice pad.
• 3:30 p.m.: Smith’s body was picked up by Aspen Ambulance members and transported to the morgue.
• 4:00 p.m.: All MRA members arrived back from the field.

A total of 23 MRA members participated in the mission, as well as an ambulance crew from the Aspen Ambulance District. The Aspen Hope Center also provided crisis support.  

To reach Audrey Ryan, email her at aryan@swiftcom.com.