A Skier Falls: Maroon's East Face
It was mid May 2022 and Junior(Alex Neal) and I were embarking on a week long ski trip to the Elks. It was my third trip to the Bells zone in as many weeks. The Elks were having an epic year and we had already skied the Landry Line, Maroon's East Face and North Maroon. This time Junior and I were headed back for Maroon's iconic SW couloir.
Enroute to Aspen I was feeling a little uneasy about our trip. At this point our third potential partner J had not yet committed. Knowing if J was going to join us was critical as he was going to bring e-bikes saving us two hours of sleep and sparing the 6 mile hike from the road closure to Maroon Lake. J was under some stress and was on again off again all day and the uncertainty had me on edge. For big mountains like Maroon, I like to have everything dialed well before the night of the trip.
When I arrived in Aspen, I pulled up to a downtown park and began sorting my gear in preparation for the next day. That is when Matt called me. As it turned out Matt was in town with plans to solo Maroon's east face, traverse to North Maroon and ski the north face... an impressive undertaking. Matt was looking for beta as he knew I had skied both of those lines the week before. He invited us to join him, however I was excited for a relatively chill day on the SW Couloir. We agreed that we would check in with each other at the trailhead the next morning. I still didn't know our start time and if J would be joining us.
At 8pm that evening I received the good news that J would make the trip. I was beginning to feel at ease.
Our alarms went off the next morning and we greated Matt as he began his e-bike journey up the road. When J heard Matt's plan he suggested joining hin on the route. I didn't pay much attetion and without discussion we did our final prep and started up the road. Matt was about an hour in front of us.
A few hours later we caught up with Matt at the at the top of the Y Couloir on the the shoulder of Maroon's south ridge. From there Matt continued up the mountain at a similar pace to us but on a slightly different route. We all met up at the summit.
It was a blue bird day with little to no wind and I was stoked to spend some summit time and wait for the snow to soften. The prior week we spent two hours on the summit waiting for the east face to turn from crust to corn. In fact that week we witnessed a solo skier drop early and come close to falling because of breakable crust. We would surely be waiting longer today as the SW couloir gets less sun and is more inset than the east face.
On the summit Matt extended the offer to join forces for the east face and North Maroon. I wasn't much for it, however there was strong group interest in his route. The east face is a steep, committing and exposed line. The low 5 traverse to North Maroon in snow and ice could also present challenges... and the north face of North Maroon is a significant ski line as well. Every phase of the day would be significantly more challenging than the SW route we had planned. Although I had skied both of those lines the week before I had not prepared myself mentally for the heavier day.
After mulling it over we agreed to join up with Matt and embark on the adventure. After all, I had skied North Maroon twice before and I was probably the last person to ski Maroon's east face. I just needed to mentally prepare myself... and do so quickly!
With a big day ahead us, there was no time to waste. We immediately began to transition to skis. In all of the rush we failed to consider if the snow on the east face was in fact ready to ski. In addition, there was no conversation regarding ski order and within minutes we were lined up to ski. Matt was first, then Junior, me and J. In retrospect it would have been best if Junior and I skied first and last given we were the only ones with radios.
With nods all around Matt began his descent and within seconds was tumbling down Maroon Peak. When Matt realized he would not recover from his mistake he screamed 'FUCK!' and J yelled 'He's Dead!' My adrenaline spiked and the words 'rescue mode' raced through my head. My blood ran cold and my brain kicked into business mode. I felt no emotion.
Matt disappeared down the mountain just right of the east face's primary fall line. Due to the steep slope angle, we could not see down the line. None of us knew what was down there but we were pretty sure it was nothing but cliffs.
Junior and I quickly discussed a plan. Junior would side slip down the east face and see if he could get eyes on Matt and radio back status. Within a few minutes Junior verified that he could see Matt and that he was alive and moving. He also confirmed that he could safely reach him. We didn't know Matt's physical status or if they would be cliffed out.
Matt was located somewhere above the Y couloir that we had ascended earlier that morning. With sub optimal snow on the east face, we agreed that J and I would retrace our steps back to the Y couloir and to assist in extraction if needed.
When J and I reached the top of the Y, Junior radioed that they had successfully made their way down and that Matt was ok. We met up close to the bottom of the Y.
I had tears as I gave Matt a big hug. Although he was physically ok with all gear in tact, he was shaken. We all made our way back to the bikes and cars together.
The business nature of my mental state slowly subsided and was replaced with emotion and PTSD. This was the third serious ski fall I had witnessed in the last five years. The first being a similar incident on North Maroon resulting in a broken hand. The second being an 1800ft fall on Big Eyes Couloir resulting in a death. When we got back to the vehicles, I informed Junior that I was in no shape to continue our ski trip and that I needed to return home and get my head straight.
In Matt's 'Sharp End' podcast he discusses lessons learned. Although my takeaways may not have prevented the accident, this is what I think about when reflecting back on that day.
When tackling large mountains and committing lines, stick to a firm plan and ski with regular partners who are on-board with the route. It is one thing to change plans on the Tuning Forks. Quite another on the Maroon Bells. There are so many factors that may go un-realized with such significant plan changes on the summit. Last minute change of plans seems to be a common theme when accidents happen.
Ski with a radio if you know there will be other people on the mountain. There is no one piece of equipment that can prevent an accident or hamper a rescue... however each layer of protection adds up and increases our chances of survival in dangerous environments.
Understand your motivations for participating in risky activities. Skiing dangerous lines, running dangerous rapids, etc. requires a great deal of introspection and self-awareness. Am I doing this because "I want to be the best ski mountaineer in the country?" Am I doing it for the social media attention? Do I want to impress my friends? All probably reasons for reflection. We are all human and struggle with these motivations. However, once you realize issue... be honest with yourself and check-in. It is one thing to acknowledge a problem... quite another to act. The way this accident was published on social media seems to contradict some of lessons learned that are discussed in Matt's podcast interview.
Not really a lesson but... I was blindsided when the video and podcast hit the airways. My phone blew up with texts asking about it. It brought back the PTSD of various accidents I have witnessed. Both the video and podcast were published on so many sites it seemed to be in-escapable. Re-posts and shares just added to the problem. At a minimum it would have been nice to have received a heads-up that there was going to be a media event. It was Matt's fall... but it was all of our experience.... one for which each of us had a different role, perspective and emotioal reaction; an event that will impact each of us for rest of our lives.
Postmortem analysis is extremely important. As a community we need to collectively understand mistakes, what was done right and how we can be better. American Whitewater annually publishes kayaking accidents, climbing has the American Alpine Journal. Static publications allow friends and partners to constructively discuss and analyze accidents together. Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram cause unintended problems... including PTSD for friends, family and partners. In addition, these platforms often render the conversation unproductive and even harmful by allowing trolls and otherwise uninformed/unexperieced individuals with strong opinions to participate.
Below is the point of view video of Matt's fall from his GoPro. If you choose to watch be sure to turn up the volume... however be warned... the video is disturbing.
Also take a listen to Matt's interview on the Sharp End Podcast below.
