Well, this is going to make future days at work very awkward.
In a harrowing tale of survival, a Colorado man endured a treacherous night alone on Mount Shavano after a planned office retreat took a dire turn. What was meant to be a bonding experience among co-workers turned into a man being let behind and a forced into survival mode.
“In what might cause some awkward encounters at the office in the coming days and weeks, one member of their party was left to complete his final summit push alone,” search and rescue officials said.
The man was one of 15 colleagues who embarked on the challenging ascent of Mount Shavano, a peak known for its rugged terrain and breathtaking vistas. The group, eager to reach the summit, started their climb on a Friday, aiming to conquer the mountain together. However, as they neared the summit, on of the men in the group struggled.
The man, dressed entirely in black, lagged behind and found himself abandoned by his co-workers. At approximately 11:30 a.m., he reached the peak, but became disorientation as he began to make his way down.
He sent a pin drop to his colleagues, only to be informed that he was on the wrong path. They advised him to climb back up to regain the trail. As the clock ticked closer to 4:00 p.m., the man struggled to find the trial, sending another desperate pin drop and text message to his group.
Here’s where things really took a turn for the worst. A violent storm engulfed the mountain, bombarding the area with freezing rain and fierce winds. The storm disoriented the man further, cutting off his cell service and leaving him stranded and alone on the mountain as darkness fell.
When rescuers were alerted to the missing hiker at 9 p.m., two hasty search teams and a drone pilot were dispatched to the scene. However, the storm hindered the team. The man, battling the elements and his own disorientation, spent a terrifying night on the mountain, falling at least 20 times as he tried to find his way down. His last fall left him unable to rise again.
Miraculously, as dawn broke, he regained enough cell service to call 911. Rescue teams located him in a gully below Esprit Point, above the North Fork drainage—a location far from where search efforts had initially been concentrated.
Rescue officials were astounded by the man’s fortune. “This hiker was phenomenally lucky to have regained cell service when he did and to still have enough consciousness and wherewithal to call 911,” they noted. The situation could have easily taken a much darker turn had he not been able to make that critical call.
If this isn’t an example of what American culture has turned into I don’t know what is. How did no one stay back with the guy? How could they just leave him? Nobody went back for him when he became lost? Why did someone wait until 9 pm to contact rescuers?
According to search and rescue officials, the man was sent to the hospital for further care.