RMNP: Park visitors reported seeing, talking with missing Air Force student
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Park officials on Thursday said that park visitors who were in the Longs Peak area on Saturday spoke with Tice for about 20 minutes. Tice told the visitors he had set out from the Longs Peak trailhead at 6:30 a.m.
The visitors last saw Tice in the vicinity of the Battle Mountain area, between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. as weather condition began to deteriorate. Tice was reportedly wearing a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, a black hat, black lightweight gloves, tennis shoes and a light blue backpack
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Has there ever been a report on the time of his last cell phone signal? I've only seen Saturday, but don't remember seeing a time. The location was I 25 and East Woodman, which in order to google distance I selected a hotel on that intersection. He would have needed to leave at least 2:30-3:00am in order to leave for the hike at 6:30. More detail would be helpful to narrow this timeframe.RMNP: Park visitors reported seeing, talking with missing Air Force student
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Park officials on Thursday said that park visitors who were in the Longs Peak area on Saturday spoke with Tice for about 20 minutes. Tice told the visitors he had set out from the Longs Peak trailhead at 6:30 a.m.
The visitors last saw Tice in the vicinity of the Battle Mountain area, between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. as weather condition began to deteriorate. Tice was reportedly wearing a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, a black hat, black lightweight gloves, tennis shoes and a light blue backpack
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What? How the heck can you search for a missing person if the snow is almost over your head? And if he could be under all that snow. Yikes. My extreme respects to SAR Ski Patrol, AF Academy and ARM rescue. Bravo.Park visitors provide more information about missing hiker in Longs Peak
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Searches continued on the ground in the Longs Peak area Thursday, focusing in and around the Longs Peak Trail, East Longs Peak Trail, Granite Pass, and Jim’s Grove area. Crews also searched in the Boulder Brook Trail and the Storm Pass areas.
The Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team was assisted by Rocky Mountain Rescue, Air Force Academy Mountaineering Club, Diamond Peaks Ski Patrol, and Larimer County Search and Rescue.
In the third day of the search for Tice, crews continued to face extreme weather, including chest-deep snow, a high avalanche danger, strong wind gusts and bitter wind chill.
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Thanks, cybervampira! This new information fleshes out Micah's hike a bit more. Based on what he was wearing - a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, a black hat, black lightweight gloves, tennis shoes and a light blue backpack - it's hard to believe he intended to summit Longs Peak, especially since he had done prior research on the proper equipment. Like not.a.muggle said - cotton. Cotton is not your friend in the current mountain conditions. And sturdy footwear is a must.RMNP: Park visitors reported seeing, talking with missing Air Force student
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Park officials on Thursday said that park visitors who were in the Longs Peak area on Saturday spoke with Tice for about 20 minutes. Tice told the visitors he had set out from the Longs Peak trailhead at 6:30 a.m.
The visitors last saw Tice in the vicinity of the Battle Mountain area, between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. as weather condition began to deteriorate. Tice was reportedly wearing a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, a black hat, black lightweight gloves, tennis shoes and a light blue backpack
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Hikers report seeing Air Force cadet candidate in Rocky Mountain National ParkTice’s mother arrived in Colorado Wednesday night and she will meet with search teams Thursday. Janice Tice said her son told her that he wanted to climb Longs Peak in more difficult conditions. She said her son was an experienced hiker who had climbed Longs Peak before. However, heavy snow and bitter cold moved in over the weekend, creating very difficult conditions.
Whoa! Click on this link and look at the bottom pic of the snow there!!
I wish that the msm article had stated the time he had talked to the other hikers, not just the length of the conversation. According to the trail map on alltrails, he would have hiked about 1/3 to 1/2 of the inbound Longs Peak--Keyhole Route. I would put a link to the map, but www.alltrails.com requires you to register to see the bigger map. It is free to register, and I have used this site for about 5 years to get information on hikes.
I'm thinking the same way as you are. Tennis shoes alone is mind boggling. And what kind of serious winter hiking gear could he be carrying in a light pack. I bet you're onto something with the desire to do something "epic" and obtain some sort of unique bragging rights. And I to bet he underestimated what it would truly be like on Longs Peak in November during a winter storm. That peak is epic enough during summer months. Still hoping he is found hunkered down somewhere he could shelter, but my hopes were low to begin with. As time passes, hope wanes.I wish I could share his mother’s optimism. It sounds as though he bought the supplies this past summer and it’s not clear he actually had any winter survival gear with him on this hike. If the description of his clothing is accurate, he wasn’t prepared for winter weather in general and certainly not for a winter storm at altitude. I noticed the hikers reported he had a light blue backpack. I wish the article would have included any observations on his gear.
His thought process isn’t adding up. Maybe it’s naïveté? He may have hiked the trail before, but no experienced hiker/climber/backpacker would recommend doing so in winter storm conditions. I thought maybe he had a companion because sometimes the dynamic of two people can drive decisions that each would reject individually. He seemed to have some concept of an EPIC winter hiking trip that he was emulating.
I’m sadly thinking he won’t return from this trip, and we may never know why he set out on it in the first place. JMO, and I hope I’m wrong. My thoughts are with his loved ones and with the SAR pros.
Upthread, post #45 states that they talked to him around 7:30-8:00am. If he had left the trailhead at 6:30, then that puts him an hour- to an hour and a half into his hike. Depends in weather by this time and also incline of the hike how fast he could cover this distance. jmoI wish that the msm article had stated the time he had talked to the other hikers, not just the length of the conversation. According to the trail map on alltrails, he would have hiked about 1/3 to 1/2 of the inbound Longs Peak--Keyhole Route. I would put a link to the map, but www.alltrails.com requires you to register to see the bigger map. It is free to register, and I have used this site for about 5 years to get information on hikes.
I'm thinking the same way as you are. Tennis shoes alone is mind boggling. And what kind of serious winter hiking gear could he be carrying in a light pack. I bet you're onto something with the desire to do something "epic" and obtain some sort of unique bragging rights. And I to bet he underestimated what it would truly be like on Longs Peak in November during a winter storm. That peak is epic enough during summer months. Still hoping he is found hunkered down somewhere he could shelter, but my hopes were low to begin with. As time passes, hope wanes.
Glacier NP is a beautiful place. I have hiked there, but never alone. In fact, I only hiked alone once in my entire hiking life. And that was in PA on a well-known, short trail, near our campground that I had hiked a zillion times before with hubby and others. Seems this case, like the other missing hikers over the past months, including Ryan Albert, who is also missing on Longs Peak, were hikers alone, who were somewhat ill-prepared. I'm not judge and jury here, or on any case, but I do believe that if they had not been alone, the chances would be greater that they would not be missing and possibly would still be alive. I wish the sense of self preservation were equally as strong as the sense of adventure in some of us humans. mooThat was the EXACT thought I had, "Tennis shoes"?! For serious hiking? I thought maybe they were grip shoes someone thought were tennis shoes. But up there, you really need boots for the hike.
The most important safety measure we try to hit home, is never go on a hike alone. Happens almost every year that a young man, ends up missing and dead at Glacier Park. Usually found by other hikers, a fall...sadly.