A mountain climber survived a 1,500-foot fall off a mountain in Colorado after he went missing for several days.
Ryan Montoya, 23, was found Tuesday afternoon by a jogger on a nearby road after he was reported missing since Sunday, the Aspen Times reported.
The jogger flagged down rescue crews who were looking for Montoya on snowmobiles heading up the road. The search and rescue crew found him and took him to the T-Lazy 7 Ranch and then to Aspen Valley Hospital, KMGH reported.
“He’s alive!!!!!” LaShawn Bockus Montoya, posted on Facebook after getting word that her son was still alive. Your prayers and God’s angels protected him!!!”
Montoya had been climbing by himself on the east face of Pyramid Peak in Aspen Sunday and was 40 feet from the summit when a chunk of ice and snow broke off the mountain and sent him falling, according to his mother.
He landed in a snowfield and used his good arm to dig out a snow cave where he could spend the night. His emergency bivouac sack had fuel, so he used it to melt the snow and drink water from it.
Montoya ventured out for help Monday night and again on Tuesday when he spotted the runner.
The Davis Enterprise reported that Montoya suffered a broken hip and elbow, in addition to frostbite on his fingers and toes.
“All the doctors and staff here (most of them are climbers too) say that they have never seen anyone survive a fall down the east face of that mountain – he is literally a walking miracle,” LaShawn posted on Facebook.
A YouCaring account, set up to raise money for travel expenses for his parents and his medical bills, has raised more than $14,000.
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