Death on Longs Peak

Yesterday during my hike day, I overheard a SAR (Search and Rescue) on my radio. A 62-year-old man had been hiking with his 22-year-old daughter on Longs Peak. That morning was the official declaration that the climb was no longer technical, and quite literally hundreds of people were summiting over the weekend. Apparently, the man had a heart attack near the top and died up there. Listening to the SAR over the radio made everything seem so procedural. I guess that's what needs to happen through radio traffic, but the way he kept being refered to as the "package" sent a chill down my spine every time.

My summit will be one week after his attempt, and I am going to have to be sure to respect nature and not take any part of that journey for granted. I know this was a heart attack and not a slip or slide down the steep face, but these kinds of messages still make me very aware that there is something larger than life that cannot be ignored. This was only the first death up there this season, and I sure don't want to contribute to the next.