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Hiker dies in estimated 300-foot fall at St. Mary’s Glacier in Colorado
A man died in an estimated 300-foot fall while he was hiking near St. Mary’s Glacier in Clear Creek County on Thursday afternoon, Alpine Rescue confirmed with CBS News Colorado.
Alpine Rescue Team
According to the rescue agency, first responders began searching for a stranded or fallen hiker near the lake after a call was received just before 2:30 p.m. It’s unconfirmed at this time, but it’s likely that it was a bystander at the lake who called 911 when the hiker fell.
Clear Creek County first responders joined with Alpine Rescue and discovered the hiker, and he was pronounced deceased. Crews then performed a technical lowering down the snow slope below and to the right of the arrow in the provided image. The entire response lasted roughly two hours.
It was unknown on the day of the fall whether the hiker was a Colorado resident.
When CBS News Colorado spoke to Alpine Rescue, officials said the hiker was found with micro walking spikes on his shoes, but they weren’t considered helpful devices for the terrain that was being traversed — Class 3 terrain in steep snow.
Especially during this time of year, the snow can be hard to predict, so it’s important to know the terrain.
In the heart of downtown Clemson, South Carolina, the Shepherd Hotel is a community hub buzzing with locals and visitors. Like most hotels, the staff is what makes the difference. But here, the staff also makes it unique.
Around 30% of the staff have an intellectual disability. Workers make between $13 and $18 per hour including tips — far above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Nationwide, 16% of people with an intellectually disability are employed, according to a ThinkWork survey.
The Shepherd’s owner, Rick Hayduk, brought his vision of employing intellectually disabled people to life in part because two of his four children have Down syndrome.
“If we do our job right, someone leaves here inspired,” Hayduk said.
The hotel partnered with a program at nearby Clemson University called ClemsonLIFE. Students, including Hayduk’s daughter Jamison, not only take college courses, they also learn skills to help them live and work independently.
The program’s participants learn everything from time management and hygiene to banking and budgeting, according to program director Erica Walters. Nearly all of the graduates who have been through the program are employed. Plans are underway to open two similar hotels in South Carolina next year.
“We want to grow for the sake of inspiration and change,” Hayduk said.
The program is changing lives.
Alex Eveland, a recent graduate from ClemsonLIFE, is now employed as a server at the Shepherd Hotel. Eveland has Down syndrome, and as a child, doctors thought he would never walk or talk. Now he is working toward a hospitality certification and has dreams of opening his own restaurant one day.
“I have no time to have a bad day in life, because I want to tell people, people could do anything in life,” Eveland said.
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