Longs Peak. The Rescue.

Despite freezing weather and hours of treacherous winds we made it to the top of Longs Peak today and more importantly back down. The wind became so forceful on the way back that we literally had to cling to the rocks to keep from being blown away. None of us had ever experienced such forceful winds much less while hanging on to the side of a mountain. I am very happy everyone arrived home safely.

I was very proud to be part of this group representing Flatirons CrossFit today (Sean, Joe Brown, Josh, and I). Despite being desperate to get out of the wind after enduring such an ordeal we stopped at the bottom of the boulder field to check on a man who had been blown over by the wind and had smashed his head on a rock. He was covered in blood and his wife was in an absolute panic and on the verge of a complete break down. The winds were too strong to send a helicopter. The couple was stuck there. With no other options, the four of us worked together to evacuate this man, his wife, and all of their backpacking gear 5 miles back to the trailhead fighting those gale force winds with every single step. Without hesitation and without complaint our crossfitters endured an extra several hours of bitter winds to help these people. It was amazing to me how our mental and physical conditioning had been directly responsible for our ability to help this poor couple out of such a desperate and dangerous predicament. When the wife asked ‘how are you guys so strong?’ I mentioned we all worked out at the same gym. She replied ‘I want to come work out at YOUR gym’. The man was taken to the hospital and will be just fine and his wife was extremely gracious. Well done today, team.