Inexperienced hiker dies after fall from Mount Crested Butte cliffs

CB Search and Rescue is busy…

[  By Mark Reaman  ]

A tragic hiking accident resulted in the death of a 26-year-old visitor from Ohio when he fell off the cliffs on the front side of Mount Crested Butte on June 29. Sidhant Mahat was Nepalese but working at Bowling Green University in Ohio and was visiting Gunnison on vacation. 

Gunnison County coroner Michael Barnes said Mahat was staying in Gunnison but had taken the Silver Queen chairlift up Mount Crested Butte on Wednesday afternoon, June 29 by himself. Barnes noted that it became pretty stormy on the afternoon of the 29th and it was possible that the inexperienced hiker had gotten frightened and lost when a lightning storm rolled in. It appeared he had hiked to the southwest side of the mountain away from the main ski area and chairlift.

According to a press release from the Mount Crested Butte police department, a report was made at approximately 12:30 a.m. on June 30 for an overdue hiker who had not returned from hiking Mount Crested Butte. “Officers alerted Crested Butte Search and Rescue and a team was deployed to search for the missing party,” the release stated. “At approximately 1:05 p.m. on June 30, a body was located by helicopter on Mount Crested Butte below the cliffs.”

CB Search and Rescue president Randy Felix said some members of the mountain rescue team went out immediately after the early morning call and searched for the hiker in the dark until about 4 a.m. but to no avail.

“A couple SAR members then met at the cache at 5 a.m. and drove up to the top of the Silver Queen lift and started searching across the cliff faces,” he explained. “The rest of the SAR team met at 7 a.m. to start an organized search. We had 15 members show up for the search. In the morning, a drone was also flown over the search area to try and spot the hiker. CareFlight 3 out of Rifle, CO was called and able to fly despite poor weather.”

At approximately, one o’clock CareFlight 3 located the missing hiker at the base of the cliffs in the area above Lake Grant. Felix said that CareFlight does not charge the county or SAR team when assisting on SAR calls. 

“A ground team was then able to reach the missing hiker in about an hour and determined him to be deceased,” Felix said. “The missing hiker was lowered with ropes from the base of the cliffs to the road above Lake Grant. The recovery operation took just over an hour. Being lost, oncoming darkness, poor weather, and a dead cell phone may have been contributing factors to the hiker’s decision to try and hike down through the cliffs. Crested Butte Mountain Rescue extends our deepest sympathies and condolences to the victim’s family and loved ones.”  

Barnes said Mahat died as a result of the traumatic injuries associated with the fall.

Ruby Anthracite incident

In a separate incident, CB Search-and-Rescue went out for another recovery on Friday, July 1 when an adult male hiker that was hiking with a partner collapsed on the Ruby Anthracite trail approximately 2.5 miles up the trail. 

“The hiker’s partner attempted lifesaving efforts. After her extended lifesaving efforts, she made the decision to go for help,” Felix explained. “She had to hike out and drive to where she had cell phone coverage to call for help. Members of CBSAR hiked in with a wheel and litter to do the recovery of the deceased hiker. Again, our deepest sympathies and condolences to the family and their loved ones.”