Woman dies in 900-foot fall from Colorado mountain peak

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado woman died in a 900-foot fall while scaling a dangerous peak in the Rocky Mountains near Aspen, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s office said.

The woman was hiking solo on Capitol Peak when a witness saw her fall into an area known as Pierre Lakes Basin on Saturday morning, according to the sheriff’s office. The witness said a rock handhold the victim had been using gave way.

The woman’s body was recovered by Mountain Rescue Aspen and flown out by helicopter.

Capitol Peak, located in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, at 14,137-feet high is one of Colorado’s most difficult mountains to climb because of the extreme exposure and loose, crumbling rock, the sheriff’s office said.

On Sunday, a distressed climber on Capitol Peak was rescued by helicopter after making a phone call requesting assistance. The man had been climbing off route, was dehydrated and out of food and not properly equipped for the terrain, the sheriff’s office said.