15 co-workers hiked up a Colorado mountain. There were only 14 when they came back down

By Ashley R. Williams, CNN

(CNN) — A group of 15 co-workers on an office retreat headed up a mountain trail in Colorado last week but when they returned, one of their colleagues was missing.

They set out from the Blanks Cabin Trailhead on Mount Shavano near Salida, Colorado, the morning of August 23, Chaffee County Search and Rescue South said in a news release on Facebook.

After one of the hikers reached the mountain’s peak around 11:30 a.m. local time and turned to head back down, he became disoriented, officials said.

“In his initial attempts to descend, he found himself in the steep boulder and scree field on the northeast slopes toward Shavano Lake,” Chaffee County Search and Rescue South said.

The concerned hiker sent a pin drop to his colleagues, who were already descending, to alert them of his location, according to officials.

His colleagues told him he was on the wrong route and told him to climb back up the slope to regain the trail, the release stated. By around 4 p.m., when the hiker had regained the ridge between Mount Shavano and Tabeguache Peak, he sent his group another pin drop letting them know he was near the trail, officials said.

“Shortly after that message, a strong storm passed through the area with freezing rain and high winds, and he again became disoriented, losing cell phone signal,” according to the release.

Chaffee County Search and Rescue South officials said they received an alert around 9 p.m. about an overdue hiker dressed in all black, somewhere on Mount Shavano’s standard route.

Rescue teams worked through the night and into the morning of August 24 to search for the hiker, with strong winds and freezing rain hindering their efforts.

“Working from the last known point on the ridge between Shavano and Tabeguache, teams were focused on clearing the standard route to the last known point, and the Shavano Lake/Squaw Creek drainage,” the release stated.

Several other rescue organizations joined the efforts to find the man, who told rescuers when he was found he had fallen at least 20 times on the steep slopes after becoming “very disoriented,” officials said.

“After the last fall he was unable to get back up, but very luckily regained enough cell service to make his call (to 911),” according to the release.

That 911 call made all the difference, helping search and rescue crews pinpoint his location.

Rescuers found him in a gully below Esprit Point, and he was taken to a hospital for additional care. A spokesperson with Chaffee County Search and Rescue South declined to provide an update on the hiker’s condition on Friday.

“This hiker was phenomenally lucky to have regained cell service when he did, and to still have enough consciousness and wherewithal to call 911,” the organization said in the release. “Though he was located in a tertiary search area, it would have been some time before teams made it to that location on their own.”

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