Man falls more than 300 feet and dies while summiting Colorado mountain

TELLURIDE, Colo. (Gray News) - A man fell hundreds of feet and died while summiting on a mountain in Colorado.

The 53-year-old man from Rochester, New York, was reportedly hiking alone on the Rock of Ages trail on Wilson Peak Wednesday, according to the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said that the man, described as an “experienced climber” fell about 300 to 400 feet while ascending the mountain and suffered a head injury.

Another person on the trail spotted the man and called 911. Deputies with the sheriff’s office and the San Miguel County Search and Rescue responded and found the man. The sheriff’s office said the man had unfortunately succumbed to his injuries by the time they arrived.

“The San Miguel Sheriff’s Office and SAR extend our deepest sympathies to the victim’s family,” the sheriff’s office said in their post.

Wilson Peak is located about 15 miles southwest of Telluride. It is one of Colorado’s “14ers”, a group of mountains that sit 14,000 feet above sea level or higher. The Rock of Ages trail is described to have an “experts only” difficulty with 3,809 feet of elevation gain and sections of class 3 scrambling.

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