Ice climbers discover bull elk tangled in climbing rope in Colorado. See ‘epic rescue’
A group of ice climbers came across an unusual sight on a Colorado mountain, photos show.
A massive bull elk was tangled in an old climbing rope on an ice wall, photos posted to Colorado Parks and Wildlife Southwest Region’s social media show.
“What happened when a bull elk tried to go ice climbing? A classic CPW wildlife rescue, of course,” the agency said Monday, Jan. 6. “Check out this epic rescue from Jan. 3 in Lake City!”
An agency biologist darted the elk with a tranquilizer so wildlife technicians “could safely approach the stressed animal,” officials said in the post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The CPW team cut the rope away from the elk’s antlers but needed a way to get the bull down from the climbing wall,” officials said.
So the climbers who found the elk helped rig him up to belay the creature to the base of the wall, officials said. A photo shows the elk with what looks like a ski mask over its eyes, likely to help keep it calm.
The wildlife team reversed the tranquilizer once the elk was off the ledge and back on the ground.
“After about 12 minutes, the bull popped back up and ran off down the canyon. Luckily, the story had a happy ending,” officials said. “Thanks to the climbers (Chris, Chris and Becky!) who called to report this and Lake City sheriff Denim Starnes for their assistance. It serves as a reminder of the many various tangle hazards wildlife can get caught in.”
The agency routinely reminds residents to clear their homes and yards of tangle hazards, especially around the holidays. Who knew the practice would need to extend to backcountry climbers as well.
“Wow!! Amazing story!” someone said in the comments. “Am glad everyone and the elk are ok!!!”
Lake City is a town nestled into the Rocky Mountains. It’s about a 300-mile drive southwest from Colorado Springs.
This story was originally published January 7, 2025 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Ice climbers discover bull elk tangled in climbing rope in Colorado. See ‘epic rescue’."
