Divide woman falls to her death climbing Crestone Needle

   A Divide woman fell to her death Saturday morning while nearing the summit of the 14,197-foot Crestone Needle, located in the heart of the Sangre de Cristo range in south-central Colorado.

   The victim - described by an acquaintance as an experienced climber - was identified as Linda M. Pryor, 49, said Custer County Coroner Art Nordyke.

   Authorities were alerted just before 9 a.m. The Crestone Needle is 12 miles southwest of Westcliffe on a ridge marking the border between Custer and Saguache counties.

   Pryor was in a party of six climbers who had reached an elevation of 13,500 feet. The section where she fell involves rock scrambling along treacherous ridges and steep grades but does not require ropes.

   "She lost her handhold, doubled back and slipped about 100 feet," Nordyke said, adding that her climbing helmet was knocked from her head as she tumbled down a steep grade.

   Two fellow climbers tried to resuscitate her, Nordyke said.

   A thunderstorm with the possibility of hail canceled an effort to retrieve Pryor's body, located in a remote area along the peak's western slope. Weather permitting, the effort was to resume at 4 a.m. today, said Bob Pruiksma of Custer County Search and Rescue.

   "We're going to have to rappel her down," Nordyke said.

   Four volunteers from El Paso County Search and Rescue planned to join the team of a dozen rescuers.

   They requested a helicopter from the Army National Guard to take the volunteers to a landing zone near Cottonwood Lake, about 1,000 feet below the body. They had not received word on whether helicopters would be available as of early Saturday evening, Pruiksma said.

   The Crestone Needle is renowned for its striking rock face and expansive views and is popular with those seeking to tackle the state's 54 fourteeners - peaks of 14,000 feet or more.

   Had Pryor's party reached the needle, they would have continued to the 14,294-foot Crestone Peak, a challenging climb requiring ropes, harnesses and plenty of know-how, said Tim Heckel of Colorado Springs, whose wife, Lisa, was in the climbing party.

   "The whole group was experienced," Tim Heckel said. "They had all the equipment they would have needed, including equipment for the snow, which they would have encountered later (on the climb)."

   The Heckels met Pryor through the climbing community but did not know her well, Tim Heckel said.

   "She was quiet and conscientious," he said. "She was delightful."

   Last year, search and rescue workers in Custer County were sent on 15 rescues, several of them in the Sangre de Cristo range.

   The climb to the Crestone Needle is among the most difficult in the area.

   "It's an area of very unstable rock, and route-finding can be tricky, especially at the top," said Reg Francklyn with El Paso County Search and Rescue.