Soldier's body found on Pikes Peak

Searchers on Tuesday recovered the body of a 23-year-old Fort Carson officer who died from an apparent fall during a challenging climb on Pikes Peak, authorities said.

The officer, whose name is being withheld pending family notification, was found in the mountain's rugged Y coulier two days after he embarked alone on a mixed climbing trip, said Steve Sperry, a spokesman for El Paso County Search and Rescue, which directed efforts to retrieve the body.

"From what they say, (he) would often go on cross-country, off-trail hikes by himself," Sperry said. Friends reported the man had recently purchased ice-climbing equipment, leading authorities to believe he may have been "trying his hand" at ice-climbing and suffered an accidental fall, he added.

Search and rescue teams required ropes to negotiate the steep, icy cliffs in their descent to reach the body. Together with 50 volunteers from Fort Carson, they cleared a landing zone in the Bottomless Pit region of Pikes Peak for a Chinook helicopter called in from Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora to remove the body.

The helicopter made repeat trips to transport the recovery teams back to their vehicles atop the mountain.

The officer was a member of the 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, the post said.

"Our heart-felt condolences go out to the family and friends of this soldier," Shannon Davis, Fort Carson chief of staff, said in a written release Tuesday. "Our Army family is grieving the loss of one of our own, and we are committed to helping his family in any way possible."

An autopsy will be conducted by the El Paso County Coroner's Office.

Pikes Peak Rangers found the soldier's car at the top of the peak Sunday night in their routine sweep to ensure visitors have descended at the mountain's close.

Rescue crews searched for the man for more than five hours Monday night and resumed their search early Tuesday.