Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze wants to remind residents and visitors about some basics when venturing into the mountains, following the risky rescue of of a skier March 14, that Spezze said placed the lives of around 20 volunteers and sheriff’s deputies in danger.
Rob Grizzle, 31, of Denver was carried down Mount Columbia by Chaffee County Search and Rescue volunteers the morning of March 14 after he suffered a possible broken leg and spent the previous night on the mountain with two rescuers, after a day of hiking and skiing on the fourteener.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s one or 20. What’s the difference?” Spezze said about the rescue attempt and the volunteers. “Because one guy made some bad choices, we had to bring search and rescue up there in the middle of the night, putting them in serious danger. He (Grizzle) was not prepared, he was alone and he was in a rockslide and avalanche zone. All those factors put search and rescue in danger.”
Spezze said because of wind, both Flight for Life and Air National Guard helicopters were not able to locate and rescue Grizzle and so two rescuers were dropped off near the summit of Mount Columbia, forced to locate Grizzle and spend the night with him until daylight.
Rescuers then had to make a tactical rescue, using ropes and pulleys and utilizing snowmobiles to pull Grizzle from the mountain, Spezze said.
“I don’t think this guy told anybody where he was going,” Spezze said and noted Grizzle didn’t leave a note in his car windshield informing potential rescuers where he planned on skiing and hiking.
Both those things, Spezze said, are vital in making SAR’s job safer and the sheriff department’s job easier.
Grizzle was above 13,000 feet elevation well into the late afternoon and Spezze said he should have been below treeline before then.
“It’s a little bit of frustration and a lot of concern on my part,” Spezze said. “It’s always the basic things that cause big problems for us.”
Spezze said things like getting on the trails or into the backcountry early in the morning, turning back when hikers and skiers see storms forming and most importantly informing people where you plan on going, are all things that will make potential rescue attempts safer and more efficient.
“This is an incredible service,” Speeze said about SAR. “These volunteers have a passion and dedication for this job and they don’t expect anything in return. They don’t charge anything for their services and we don’t look to charge people criminally for negligence, but we’re asking people to use common sense.”
While Spezze said Grizzle was an experienced mountaineer and skier, noting that he had hiked up and skied down several fourteeners before, Grizzle still made some serious mistakes that could have resulted in tragedy for SAR members and Grizzle himself.
“When you’re young, you get this couldn’t-happen-to-me mindset and they take greater risks as a result,” Spezze said. “The danger is always there. Every time we pull someone out with experience, it’s humbling for them. If only they had been a little more humble before they got themselves in that position.”
