God’s presence during a fall off Pyramid Peak

My nephew Ryan is an experienced climber.  At the age of 23 he had climbed nearly every high mountain in California, traversed mountains in Nepal, and moved to Colorado to go to college in Boulder, where a range of 14’ers were at his doorstep.  14’ers are mountains that are over 14,000 feet tall.  One of these is named Pyramid Peak.  Pyramid Peak is a part of “the deadly Maroon Bells” a set of mountains that have claimed many lives because of their unbelievably deceptive, loose and unstable rock. The snowfields are treacherous, poorly consolidated, and the gullies are death traps.  Expert climbers who did not know the proper routes died on these peaks.

But Ryan was up for the challenge.  He saw the climb as an opportunity to grow, test out his winter skills, and perhaps a chance to see the White Elks.  On Saturday March 4^th, he made the long drive to Aspen….solo.  He had asked friends to go with him, but none were too excited about the cold, wind, and altitude they would have to endure.  He felt the usual fear that always accompanies a climb like this…but felt his plan of reaching the summit and returning before the weather changed was doable.

The first night went fine, as Ryan dug himself a snow cave and slept for the night after a long day of hiking and climbing.  His alarm woke him up at 3:00am Sunday morning and he figured he could make it to the summit before noon and head back down before the late afternoon storm that was predicted to come in.  However, when he was just about 40 feet from the summit, he stepped on what must have been an ice cap formed by the wind or on loose rock that collapsed under him, and he fell over 2000 feet straight down off the summit ridge on the east side of the mountain.

Meanwhile, back at home in Paradise, California, my sister LaShawn and brother-in-law Dave were waiting for Ryan’s phone call to let them know he made it down the mountain safely.  They had an ongoing plan whenever Ryan did solo climbs, that if they didn’t hear from him by 7:00pm PST, to call the Search and Rescue team.   It was around that time when they started to get concerned.  He hadn’t called them yet and this was highly unusual for him.  They called his roommates and they too were concerned.  Their next call was to Aspen’s Search and Rescue.

It was almost dark in Colorado when Search and Rescue received the call, so they wouldn’t be able to search for him until Monday morning.  LaShawn and Dave decided to fly out to Aspen that next morning to be there whether they found Ryan dead or alive.  My Mom and I stayed home with my younger nephew Logan and took care of things while they were away.  We stayed in regular contact through a group family text, where Dave could give us updates as they gained information.  When the Search and Rescue team told us they found Ryan’s car at the base of the mountain, and then his abandoned snow cave with his belongings left there, we really started to prepare our hearts for the worst.  Meanwhile, we had relatives, everyone on Facebook, friends of friends, and our church family praying mightily for Ryan’s survival.  With the -4 degree weather and 100 mph winds on Pyramid Peak, we grew less and less hopeful that Ryan could survive another night on that mountain even if he was still alive.

Part of me couldn’t believe this was happening.  The previous month, on Super Bowl Sunday (February 5^th) I had fallen down a steep ravine in Paradise while hiking with my sister after church.  I fell about 60 feet, hitting several trees on my way down.  I was headed straight for the river below and could hear my sister’s screams above as she watched me tumble down faster and faster.  I finally landed in a clearing and had to climb my way back up, very badly bruised and face bashed in with a deep cut above my lip.  Long story short, I was hauled off to the ER and got 8 stitches to sew together the skin above my lip.  I was very sore and traumatized, but amazingly no broken bones or head trauma other than a mild concussion.  Everyone said how lucky I was.  Luck may have had something to do with it, but I think God had a much bigger plan and purpose for this accident.  Because I could barely move, I needed to stay at my mom’s house so she could help me with things.  She was already being a nurse to my poor father who was dying of a very rare form of cancer.  Two days later, just before midnight, my father passed away to be with the Lord.  God knew the timing of my father’s death and didn’t want Mom to be alone that night.  I was there with her because of my accident.

So during the month of February after planning and preparing for Dad’s memorial service and adjusting to such a great loss of my dear dad, we all were still in the height of grief and couldn’t imagine losing another one of our family members just a few weeks later.

That’s what kept me going to be honest.  Surely God wouldn’t take Ryan from us so soon after losing Dad.  I couldn’t let my mind drift to the thought of Ryan being found dead, or not being found at all, which was exactly what happened with the previous climber who died on Pyramid Peak.  My sister on the other hand, was laid up in a hotel room reading the Psalms and preparing her heart for the worst.  We all knew and believed in the power of prayer from God’s miraculous healing of my sister’s brain tumor back in 2004.  The peace that comes from knowing that so many believers all over the world are earnestly praying for the same thing brings comfort and a peace that God’s will, will surely be done.  Nevertheless, thoughts of Job in the Bible came to mind often, and there is a real surrendering of our own will that has to take place.  God giveth and God taketh away.  And I will yet praise the name of the Lord!  Certain hymns and praise songs would come to mind and provide comfort.  God’s presence was real and tangible even during our darkest hours.

The search for Ryan continued with the Search and Rescue team having not found him yet after day 3.  I was still holding on to hope, but my more “prepare yourself for the worst” older sister LaShawn was resolved in her heart that Ryan was most certainly lost forever.  I couldn’t imagine what life would be like for her if Ryan didn’t return alive.  It would kill her, and I couldn’t bear to see that.  It was about 5:00pm on Tuesday evening that I got a phone call from my brother-in-law while I was driving in my car back over to my sister’s house where we were all camping out.  I answered my cell phone and Dave said “THEY FOUND HIM!! HE’S ALIVE!!”  I could not believe it! I cried for joy and proceeded to thank the Lord Jesus for his AMAZING mercy.

He shouldn’t have survived.  According to the doctors and nurses in the hospital there in Aspen, no one had ever survived a fall off Pyramid Peak, not to mention the more steep and treacherous east side of the mountain.  It was truly a miracle and all our friends and family rejoiced with us and gave glory to God for this amazing gift and second chance for Ryan.  Ryan had good survival skills, no doubt, but the fact that he came out of that fall with only some frostbite and an injured elbow and pelvis, was quite amazing.

God’s presence during these dark days was felt in many ways…. through the love and support of our church family who brought us delicious meals every day while LaShawn and Dave were in Colorado with Ryan… about two weeks total; by the constant prayers and petitions that were posted on Facebook and the phone calls from friends and family that confirmed we were not alone in this… we had a mighty team of prayer warriors pleading for Ryan’s safe rescue; by the comforting visions and dreams of Ryan being found alive shared with us by certain folks; by the gentle reminders of Bible verses and of praise songs that helped us to surrender and put our trust in the only true God; and by the huge financial support from donors to help pay for Ryan’s hospital bills and for LaShawn and Dave’s travel expenses so they could stay in Colorado to be there with Ryan.  God’s provisions were exceedingly more than we could have ever imagined.  He loves us… no doubt.

Trinity

Trinity Bockus is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a private practice in Chico, California.

RTS note: To hear how Ryan Montoya survived the ordeal, you can find his story on the internet (a simple Google search will deliver multiple links to articles and news reports) and on the CBS daytime television show, “The Doctors” which aired on May 25^th.