1 Dead After Falling From Illegal Climb At Red Rocks
DENVER (CBS4)- One man died after he and his friend fell from an illegal climb near Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
The both fell in Red Rocks Park on Friday night but it wasn't until Saturday morning that one man was able to crawl out of the area and find help.
The men were climbing around on the rocks near the popular outdoor concert venue when one of them fell, a man in his 20s. His friend, a 30-year-old man, tried to rescue him but also fell.
"After the concert they were climbing on those rocks and the first man fell, his friend tried to help him but also fell and then was knocked unconscious," said West Metro Fire Rescue spokeswoman Rhonda Scholting.
When he woke up this morning he realized he was injured and then crawled out of the remote area of the park to his vehicle to call for help.
"So this morning the sun comes out, he wakes up when the sun hits his face and he realizes he's injured and doesn't know where his friend is so he starts crawling out," said Scholting.
The other man had already died by the time emergency crews arrived. His body was recovered by West Metro's Technical Rescue Team about 2:30 p.m. It was a treacherous recovery for crews.
Some firefighters had to hike in with chainsaws to help with the mission.
"They had to clear some of the brush because there's a lot of brush sort of at the base of the rocks there and in order to get the gurney down with the body they had to clear out the brush so they could roll it out," said Scholting.
The man who survived was seriously injured and had broken ribs.
It is against the rules at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre to climb on the rocks. There are signs posted that warn people to stay on the trail and not climb the rocks.
"The rocks are pretty sheer and obviously there's the danger of one of the rescuers falling so they have to be specially trained to do this and actually our team practices at least once a month and is out at red rocks at least two or three times a year practicing," said Scholting.
A 20-year-old from Highlands Ranch died in the same area of Red Rocks Park in 2011. A year later, a tourist died from a fall in the park.