A Kansas teen died Friday morning while climbing to the summit of Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The National Park Service that Lenexa resident Nicholas L. Hellbusch, 18, appeared to have struck his head while falling from the standard . A climber called Rocky Mountain rangers at 7 a.m. to report that he’d seen a body. Rangers arrived at 10:15 a.m., at which point Hellbusch was pronounced dead. A U.S. Forest Service helicopter recovered his body soon afterward.
Neither weather nor foul play were likely involved in the death of the Shawnee Mission South High School student. The reports that weather on the mountain was clear and warm, and climbers said there was no ice on the trail below where Hellbusch was climbing. A park service investigation is ongoing.
At 14,259 feet, Longs Peak is the , as well as the park’s hallmark mountain. Thousands make their way to the top each year, but thousands more turn back from the climb, rated by climbing website 14ers.com, and for good reason. The route has claimed more than 60 lives since 1884, which reports resulted mostly from unroped ascents.
A has been set up for Hellbusch’s memorial. By Wednesday morning, it had raised more than $6,100 of the $10,000 goal.