Found Deceased CO - Micah Tice, 20, hiker, Rocky Mountain Natl Park, Longs Peak Trailhead, USAFA Cadet, 22 Nov 2018

[zecats]

Could someone please create a map that has as much information regarding this search as possible? Things like the place last seen, the place Micah's phone was last pinged, and possibly the area that has already been covered by the SAR, plus anything else that is noteworthy. Thanks.

I don't know if a map of the search areas was ever made. The weather was bad already the day he hiked and searching was difficult.

Here is an except of a post upthread, as most info can be found regarding his car location, where seen by other hikers, when phone last pinged (and where). It's not too long of a thread, but I think you'll find most of the answers to your questions if you read back though some of it. Use the search and click "this thread only" and enter key words like "search area" or "cell phone" or "last seen" just as examples. If you don't prefer to read every post, then ones related to those searches pop up and you can just look at those.

"Searches continued on the ground in the Longs Peak area Thursday, focusing in and around the Longs Peak Trail, East Longs Peak Trail, Granite Pass, and Jim’s Grove area. Crews also searched in the Boulder Brook Trail and the Storm Pass areas.

The Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team was assisted by Rocky Mountain Rescue, Air Force Academy Mountaineering Club, Diamond Peaks Ski Patrol, and Larimer County Search and Rescue.

In the third day of the search for Tice, crews continued to face extreme weather, including chest-deep snow, a high avalanche danger, strong wind gusts and bitter wind chill."

Nice to see you again @PalmerLakeAnon . Maybe you'll be successful in this search as well, if and when the weather makes it ok. BTW There is another missing hiker on Longs Peak as well. And there is a thread for him here: Ryan Albert went missing earlier in the fall than Micah.

CO - CO - Ryan Albert, 30, hiker, Rocky Mountain National Park, Longs Peak area, 4 Oct 2018

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Could someone please create a map that has as much information regarding this search as possible? Things like the place last seen, the place Micah's phone was last pinged, and possibly the area that has already been covered by the SAR, plus anything else that is noteworthy. Thanks.

O/T: I was just thinking about Kevin this morning. I was doing the dishes and can’t remember what prompted the thought. I do think of you, Kevin, your mom and sister often. What an amazing family. I knew you would find him.

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

I have read through this thread today and looked at all of the news articles I could find. I myself had hiked Longs Peak last July with some friends, and so there are a few noteworthy things from my experience. I think I've come up with one reasonable scenario, and please correct me if I got anything wrong:

Micah left the trailhead around 0630 on Saturday. He encountered other hikers for about 20 minutes some time between 0730 and 0800, near Battle Mountain. I figured Micah was hiking no faster than 3 mph, given the difficulty of the hike, plus there being snow would have slowed him down. However, hiking 3 mph, I figured Micah would have been in the vicinity of Battle Mountain between those times, just as the hikers said. In ideal conditions, I do not think he would have made it much farther past Granite Pass before 0800.

The hikers said the weather was deteriorating when they saw him. By the time they parted, Micah would have been around 12,000 feet near Granite Pass. My assumption is that he was still heading up the Longs Peak trail towards the Keyhole. For about 1 mile before reaching the Keyhole, the trail enters a large boulder field. What I found out from my hike in July was that the trail disappeared very quickly and the remaining hike to the Keyhole consisted of scrambling and boulder-hopping, with no direction other than towards Keyhole itself on the ridge ahead. To make matters worse, many of these boulders were loose, not like they could become dislodged and roll down, but rather they would shift about from under you and make you lose your footing.

Now, imagine hiking through this stretch in a blinding snowstorm. I believe Micah may have been caught out in the boulder field during the blizzard and become completely disoriented. He may have then twisted his ankle in the rocks, or maybe continued hiking off a cliff. If this scenario is correct, I do not believe Micah survived through the night, his body being buried in the snow, between the elevations of 12,000 and 13,000 feet. If SAR was dealing with chest-deep snow, there was probably no way they could find him during the initial search.

 

[zecats]

I have read through this thread today and looked at all of the news articles I could find. I myself had hiked Longs Peak last July with some friends, and so there are a few noteworthy things from my experience. I think I've come up with one reasonable scenario, and please correct me if I got anything wrong:

Micah left the trailhead around 0630 on Saturday. He encountered other hikers for about 20 minutes some time between 0730 and 0800, near Battle Mountain. I figured Micah was hiking no faster than 3 mph, given the difficulty of the hike, plus there being snow would have slowed him down. However, hiking 3 mph, I figured Micah would have been in the vicinity of Battle Mountain between those times, just as the hikers said. In ideal conditions, I do not think he would have made it much farther past Granite Pass before 0800.

The hikers said the weather was deteriorating when they saw him. By the time they parted, Micah would have been around 12,000 feet near Granite Pass. My assumption is that he was still heading up the Longs Peak trail towards the Keyhole. For about 1 mile before reaching the Keyhole, the trail enters a large boulder field. What I found out from my hike in July was that the trail disappeared very quickly and the remaining hike to the Keyhole consisted of scrambling and boulder-hopping, with no direction other than towards Keyhole itself on the ridge ahead. To make matters worse, many of these boulders were loose, not like they could become dislodged and roll down, but rather they would shift about from under you and make you lose your footing.

Now, imagine hiking through this stretch in a blinding snowstorm. I believe Micah may have been caught out in the boulder field during the blizzard and become completely disoriented. He may have then twisted his ankle in the rocks, or maybe continued hiking off a cliff. If this scenario is correct, I do not believe Micah survived through the night, his body being buried in the snow, between the elevations of 12,000 and 13,000 feet. If SAR was dealing with chest-deep snow, there was probably no way they could find him during the initial search.

This all makes good sense of course. With your estimate of his speed, the hikers who saw him and weather conditions, all that you say is very likely. Keep in mind his clothing didn’t seem even close to appropriate for this hike in the weather conditions that were present. I too don’t think he survived the first night no matter how far he actually made it up towards the summit. Sad that he even attempted it at the time he chose.

 

[MsMarple]

I have read through this thread today and looked at all of the news articles I could find. I myself had hiked Longs Peak last July with some friends, and so there are a few noteworthy things from my experience. I think I've come up with one reasonable scenario, and please correct me if I got anything wrong:

Micah left the trailhead around 0630 on Saturday. He encountered other hikers for about 20 minutes some time between 0730 and 0800, near Battle Mountain. I figured Micah was hiking no faster than 3 mph, given the difficulty of the hike, plus there being snow would have slowed him down. However, hiking 3 mph, I figured Micah would have been in the vicinity of Battle Mountain between those times, just as the hikers said. In ideal conditions, I do not think he would have made it much farther past Granite Pass before 0800.

The hikers said the weather was deteriorating when they saw him. By the time they parted, Micah would have been around 12,000 feet near Granite Pass. My assumption is that he was still heading up the Longs Peak trail towards the Keyhole. For about 1 mile before reaching the Keyhole, the trail enters a large boulder field. What I found out from my hike in July was that the trail disappeared very quickly and the remaining hike to the Keyhole consisted of scrambling and boulder-hopping, with no direction other than towards Keyhole itself on the ridge ahead. To make matters worse, many of these boulders were loose, not like they could become dislodged and roll down, but rather they would shift about from under you and make you lose your footing.

Now, imagine hiking through this stretch in a blinding snowstorm. I believe Micah may have been caught out in the boulder field during the blizzard and become completely disoriented. He may have then twisted his ankle in the rocks, or maybe continued hiking off a cliff. If this scenario is correct, I do not believe Micah survived through the night, his body being buried in the snow, between the elevations of 12,000 and 13,000 feet. If SAR was dealing with chest-deep snow, there was probably no way they could find him during the initial search.

PalmerLakeAnon, thank you for sharing your personal experience hiking Longs Peak and for the precise description of the different sections.

It's interesting that you think Micah's body may be somewhere between 12,000 and 13,000 feet. IIRC, searchers were not able to search above 12,000 feet due to the weather. I read that private searchers were planning to go above that height but was never able to find if that actually happened.

So if you're correct then it seems like Micah won't be found until Spring or whenever Long's Peak can be traversed above 12,000 feet. I do tend to agree with you since no trace of him was found below that level.

And yes, if he's that high up then he probably didn't survve the first night, especially given that he was woefully unprepared for the conditions. I guess in some ways it's better if he didn't since no one would have reached him anyway.

I'd like to know your opinion (or other experienced hikers on the thread) of people hiking strenuous trails alone; we've had solo hikers here in the Olympic Peninsula disappear too, with fatal results. I'm not an experienced hiker so I only hike easy areas with my husband and/or kids. Thanks!

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

I threw together this map quickly this morning to try to show what I believe are all (or most) possible scenarios. Sorry if the map is a bit crowded.
IMO, these are in decreasing likelihood:

RED: Pretty much what I stated in the last post. After thinking about it, I do not believe Micah would have ended up over a cliff in this scenario. He would have had to climb to above 12,900' before reaching any cliff. If he was in the boulder field, he would have been quickly disoriented in the storm and gotten lost.

PURPLE: Micah either made the decision to seek lower ground or just wandered in this direction. From the boulder field, Boulder Brook is the nearest area below treeline, located just north and below the boulder field. But looking at the 3D maps, this area becomes much steeper, and by the looks of the aerial photos, the ground is unstable. Rocks are probably more likely to become dislodged and roll, or Micah may have walked onto a snowbank and slid down. There are often areas like this on 14ers, where one may look at it and think of it as a quick shortcut to get down, but up close, the loose boulders and steep ground are huge hazards. I think if Micah went in this direction, it would have most likely been by accident; I'm sure he would not have been able to see very far in the storm.

I think BLUE and GREEN are of similar likelihood.

BLUE: If Micah did in fact decide to turn around, the time at which he did would be critical to know, since the visibility of the trail would depend on it. Depending on how long the storm had been going, the trail may have been completely covered in snow. In this scenario, Micah made it back to Granite Pass, but strayed from the trail, going too high and maybe running into the same hazards mentioned in other scenarios: loose boulders and steep terrain.

GREEN: Same as BLUE pretty much, but this time Micah went too low. At first glance, continuing straight down through Jim's Grove may seem like a good shortcut; however, there are many drop-offs that could really mess someone up.

CYAN: Micah missed the turn at Granite Pass and continued (uphill) up to Battle Mountain, becoming disoriented and hopelessly lost, like in RED. I would think this would be less likely than the other scenarios because I think Micah would have recognized he was going uphill again if he overran Granite Pass. But I still think this is somewhat likely.

ORANGE: Similar to BLUE and GREEN but Micah made it to the ridge and accidentally continued over the edge, east of Chasm Lake and Peacock Pool.

MAGENTA: I think this is the least likely. Micah managed to make it down to treeline, following the trail or not, but then decided to try to cut straight down through the forest as a shortcut. He would either twist an ankle somewhere from obstacles hidden in the snow, take a fall down a steep hill, or the route would be so slow-going that he ends up being caught out at night in the snowstorm.

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

IMO: I'm sure Micah would have recognized that his situation was dire, so I think he would have been trying to seek lower ground. With no visibility in the storm, I think he would have only been able to tell if he was heading downhill or not. By only hiking down hill, he would have assumed he would reach treeline eventually. But by simply walking downhill, he would have certainly run into problems with the terrain. This is all just an assumption, but I think it's reasonable.

Therefore, these are my guesses as to where Micah is:

1) Below 12,800'
2) Above treeline, which is at about 11,200'
3) From where he was before turning around, he is downhill.
4) From where he was before turning around, he did not continue to gain elevation. If he recognized he was going uphill, he would have turned around.

 

[zecats]

I threw together this map quickly this morning to try to show what I believe are all (or most) possible scenarios. Sorry if the map is a bit crowded.
IMO, these are in decreasing likelihood:

RED: Pretty much what I stated in the last post. After thinking about it, I do not believe Micah would have ended up over a cliff in this scenario. He would have had to climb to above 12,900' before reaching any cliff. If he was in the boulder field, he would have been quickly disoriented in the storm and gotten lost.

PURPLE: Micah either made the decision to seek lower ground or just wandered in this direction. From the boulder field, Boulder Brook is the nearest area below treeline, located just north and below the boulder field. But looking at the 3D maps, this area becomes much steeper, and by the looks of the aerial photos, the ground is unstable. Rocks are probably more likely to become dislodged and roll, or Micah may have walked onto a snowbank and slid down. There are often areas like this on 14ers, where one may look at it and think of it as a quick shortcut to get down, but up close, the loose boulders and steep ground are huge hazards. I think if Micah went in this direction, it would have most likely been by accident; I'm sure he would not have been able to see very far in the storm.

I think BLUE and GREEN are of similar likelihood.

BLUE: If Micah did in fact decide to turn around, the time at which he did would be critical to know, since the visibility of the trail would depend on it. Depending on how long the storm had been going, the trail may have been completely covered in snow. In this scenario, Micah made it back to Granite Pass, but strayed from the trail, going too high and maybe running into the same hazards mentioned in other scenarios: loose boulders and steep terrain.

GREEN: Same as BLUE pretty much, but this time Micah went too low. At first glance, continuing straight down through Jim's Grove may seem like a good shortcut; however, there are many drop-offs that could really mess someone up.

CYAN: Micah missed the turn at Granite Pass and continued (uphill) up to Battle Mountain, becoming disoriented and hopelessly lost, like in RED. I would think this would be less likely than the other scenarios because I think Micah would have recognized he was going uphill again if he overran Granite Pass. But I still think this is somewhat likely.

ORANGE: Similar to BLUE and GREEN but Micah made it to the ridge and accidentally continued over the edge, east of Chasm Lake and Peacock Pool.

MAGENTA: I think this is the least likely. Micah managed to make it down to treeline, following the trail or not, but then decided to try to cut straight down through the forest as a shortcut. He would either twist an ankle somewhere from obstacles hidden in the snow, take a fall down a steep hill, or the route would be so slow-going that he ends up being caught out at night in the snowstorm.

I'm sure one of those scenarios is spot on. And he will no the found until spring or summer. My questions about this case have always been why anyone would attempt to hike as he did, in that weather? And what was he thinking when dressed in "tennis shoes" and inappropriate layers for elevation change? I read somewhere that he had hiked this mountain before and wanted to do it as a challenge in a winter storm. I find it hard to comprehend that kind of mindset, though I suppose that's not really the point of it all. To me, the whole trip seems doomed from the start. Even in disregarding the hikers who encouraged him to cease the journey to the summit, he was unpersuadable. It's just mind boggling. IMO

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

I'm sure one of those scenarios is spot on. And he will no the found until spring or summer. My questions about this case have always been why anyone would attempt to hike as he did, in that weather? And what was he thinking when dressed in "tennis shoes" and inappropriate layers for elevation change? I read somewhere that he had hiked this mountain before and wanted to do it as a challenge in a winter storm. I find it hard to comprehend that kind of mindset, though I suppose that's not really the point of it all. To me, the whole trip seems doomed from the start. Even in disregarding the hikers who encouraged him to cease the journey to the summit, he was unpersuadable. It's just mind boggling. IMO

As a young, fit person who still "thinks I'm invincible," I actually do recognize this mindset. Micah's behavior here actually reminds me a lot of Kevin, even before his mental troubles. Young people in good shape often do think they are invincible like this. For example, I remember Kevin would like to go for distance runs, outside, in the middle of blizzards, on long, straight country roads; he liked the "bleakness" of it. When he would come home from these, he would have that big sense of accomplishment. One time, he woke up at 3am and climbed the big hill in our yard, I guess just to say he did it.

Back in July 2013, the family went on a camping trip, and one day we climbed Mt. of the Holy Cross. Led by our uncle, we actually bushwhacked up the mountainside before reaching the actual Holy Cross trail, and then we summited around 2pm. On the way down, it started hailing, and we had to navigate around large rock cliffs through the forest to make it back to our camp, with a dog, in pouring rain. After this dreadful adventure, Kevin wanted to do it again. I think it's the sense of adventure for young people; we crave it. As dreadful as the circumstances were, even I still sometimes wish I could relive the week of running through the forest looking for Kevin.

And as for the tennis shoes, all I ever hike in are running shoes, and I have done several 14ers. BUT, I only hike 14ers in the summer, and I have only done easy ones. When my friends and I did Longs last summer, we were all in running shoes, and we actually decided not to summit for that reason. Now trying to hike Longs in tennis shoes in the winter, that's just dumb.

Anyway, I hope this makes sense. Though I am NOT justifying hiking unprepared.

 

[zecats]

As a young, fit person who still "thinks I'm invincible," I actually do recognize this mindset. Micah's behavior here actually reminds me a lot of Kevin, even before his mental troubles. Young people in good shape often do think they are invincible like this. For example, I remember Kevin would like to go for distance runs, outside, in the middle of blizzards, on long, straight country roads; he liked the "bleakness" of it. When he would come home from these, he would have that big sense of accomplishment. One time, he woke up at 3am and climbed the big hill in our yard, I guess just to say he did it.

Back in July 2013, the family went on a camping trip, and one day we climbed Mt. of the Holy Cross. Led by our uncle, we actually bushwhacked up the mountainside before reaching the actual Holy Cross trail, and then we summited around 2pm. On the way down, it started hailing, and we had to navigate around large rock cliffs through the forest to make it back to our camp, with a dog, in pouring rain. After this dreadful adventure, Kevin wanted to do it again. I think it's the sense of adventure for young people; we crave it. As dreadful as the circumstances were, even I still sometimes wish I could relive the week of running through the forest looking for Kevin.

And as for the tennis shoes, all I ever hike in are running shoes, and I have done several 14ers. BUT, I only hike 14ers in the summer, and I have only done easy ones. When my friends and I did Longs last summer, we were all in running shoes, and we actually decided not to summit for that reason. Now trying to hike Longs in tennis shoes in the winter, that's just dumb.

Anyway, I hope this makes sense. Though I am NOT justifying hiking unprepared.

I do understand and I actually had a feeling you might state it that way. When I was younger, I did things that when I think about it now, were pretty scary. And bold. We too hiked up the side of a steep hill to find a trail one time instead of sticking to the trail. Some of the cars I've driven on the NJ Turnpike too. Yikes! VW Beetle with engine in the back, no seatbelts. Climbing trees to the very top and just sitting up there. Etc. Hindsight is and always will be 20/20.

Thanks for your insights.

 

[dspdenver]

IMO: I'm sure Micah would have recognized that his situation was dire, so I think he would have been trying to seek lower ground. With no visibility in the storm, I think he would have only been able to tell if he was heading downhill or not. By only hiking down hill, he would have assumed he would reach treeline eventually. But by simply walking downhill, he would have certainly run into problems with the terrain. This is all just an assumption, but I think it's reasonable.

Recognize, too, that given what we know/assume about his clothing, hypothermia would likely start playing a huge factor in his decision-making and even him determining whether he was going uphill or downhill in deep snow. At some point, if otherwise uninjured, what he did might not follow what we would think of as in any way rational.

A lot would depend on when/if he turned back and how quickly and intensely the storm moved in and wetted his clothing and windchilled him, and whether he got back into the forested areas for at least some shelter from the storm.

 

[zecats]

Recognize, too, that given what we know/assume about his clothing, hypothermia would likely start playing a huge factor in his decision-making and even him determining whether he was going uphill or downhill in deep snow. At some point, if otherwise uninjured, what he did might not follow what we would think of as in any way rational.

A lot would depend on when/if he turned back and how quickly and intensely the storm moved in and wetted his clothing and windchilled him, and whether he got back into the forested areas for at least some shelter from the storm.

I can see the mindset of invincible youth making him desire to do something he thought was an accomplishment worth bragging rights. Even with that, though, hiking in weather like that (even SAR couldn't progress far enough to search certain areas), and wearing the clothing he was reportedly seen wearing....tennis shoes, as I recall, are the equivalent of sneakers and is just the terminology of geography does not make for good planning. Shoes would have been wet and slip-sliding from the very beginning. That's just plain naivité and /or denial. I hope that whatever it was that motivated him, he had some enjoyment out of it before disaster struck.

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

I have been looking through the weather data for over the weekend Micah went missing. On that Sunday alone (11/25), it snowed 2 feet on Longs Peak. That would be enough to completely bury Micah, unless he was sitting up. However, it is also likely that Micah was not buried if the snow was drifting. Drifting would leave some spots with several feet of snow while other spots would barely have any. Regardless, I think that given how much it snowed over that weekend, the search for Micah the following weeks was never going to turn up anything. And now it is February...

IMO, any search on the peak will not be possible or productive until late spring (I'm guessing late May or June). However, the lower elevations should be free of snow far earlier. This also depends on how dry the next few months are. Although it is my opinion that Micah is above treeline, a search of the lower elevations should be done as soon as possible, even if it's just to check it off the list. Still, who knows? My friend and I found my brother in a place that I was just going to "check off" the list.

 

[Cryptic]

I am at a point where I believe that adults who do these things, should be charged when rescued. Billed for the hours of searching.

As a side note, National Parks Service rangers (I don't know if the mountain is in a National Park or not) are usually forbidden from making skill / preparation assessments of outdoors aficionados. Some exceptions exist for access to restricted caverns in Carlsbad.

In contrast, some states do allow state level park rangers to make such assessments. Rangers can then decide not to issue permits climbers, cave explorers, and presumably hikers. If one goes with out a permit, they get fined.

After the drowning deaths of seven "slot canyon" explorers in Utah who entered the canyons in the face of deteriorating weather, there was talk of allowing Rangers the ability to deny permits. But.... this proposal was torpedoed by out door enthusiasts feared that permits could be denied unfairly etc.

 

[zecats]

As a side note, National Parks Service rangers (I don't know if the mountain is in a National Park or not) are usually forbidden from making skill / preparation assessments of outdoors aficionados. Some exceptions exist for access to restricted caverns in Carlsbad.

In contrast, some states do allow state level park rangers to make such assessments. Rangers can then decide not to issue permits climbers, cave explorers, and presumably hikers. If one goes with out a permit, they get fined.

After the drowning deaths of seven "slot canyon" explorers in Utah who entered the canyons in the face of deteriorating weather, there was talk of allowing Rangers the ability to deny permits. But.... this proposal was torpedoed by out door enthusiasts feared that permits could be denied unfairly etc.

BBM. Yes Longs Peak is in a NP. Though separated from main entrances, it's part of Rocky Mountain NP. I wonder too if Micah (and Ryan Albert, another hiker missing there from last fall) needed to / and or did obtain any permit to climb. Can't imagine one would have been issued in Micah's case, at least.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

I have not read all of this thread...

But...

I am always interested and concerned when seeing missing hiker cases on WS...
As I am hiker enthusiast...
and have camped at RMNP...

Attached please see a link to the NPS map of the Longs Peak trail...
And other trails in RMNP.....

************************************************

https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/upload/Longs-Peak-2012-2.pdf

PLAN YOUR VISIT - LONGS PEAK
(See map in link)

*************************************

Forgive me if this has already been posted....

Noteworthy to me...
There is a NPS cabin fairly close to the summit of Longs Peak...
Too bad this young man was not able to reach this cabin to find safety...

 

[dspdenver]

I wonder too if Micah (and Ryan Albert, another hiker missing there from last fall) needed to / and or did obtain any permit to climb.

Permits are not needed for this trail except for overnight camping/parking. You don't even have to pay a park entrance fee as the trailhead is outside of the entrance stations to RMNP.

 

[zecats]

Permits are not needed for this trail except for overnight camping/parking. You don't even have to pay a park entrance fee as the trailhead is outside of the entrance stations to RMNP.

I thought as much since we hiked around Lily Lake, which is outside stations as well. Thinking that since it's such a formidable mountain hike, there might be some requirements for accountability. Just requires common sense, it seems, which can sometimes be lacking in all of us. jmo

 

[Cryptic]

BBM. Yes Longs Peak is in a NP. Though separated from main entrances, it's part of Rocky Mountain NP. I wonder too if Micah (and Ryan Albert, another hiker missing there from last fall) needed to / and or did obtain any permit to climb. Can't imagine one would have been issued in Micah's case, at least.

With rare exceptions (restricted caverns in Carlsbad, possibly some 'technical' rock climbing routes) permits are not required in National Parks.

Though the way to the summit of this peak can be described as 'climbing', it does not seem to be 'technical' where truly specialized climbing equipment and skills are needed. Rather, one just needs to keep walking up. As a trivia side note, nearly all of Mount Everest is a "non technical" climb as well.

Going back to National Parks, other areas may have an encouraged "permit". But that such permits are always given regardless of conditions and simply serve as a means to keep track of numbers and camp site reservations.

 

[zecats]

With rare exceptions (restricted caverns in Carlsbad, possibly some 'technical' rock climbing routes) permits are not required in National Parks.

Though the way to the summit of this peak can be described as 'climbing', it does not seem to be 'technical' where truly specialized climbing equipment and skills are needed. Rather, one just needs to keep walking up. As a trivia side note, nearly all of Mount Everest is a "non technical" climb as well.

Going back to National Parks, other areas may have an encouraged "permit". But that such permits are always given regardless of conditions and simply serve as a means to keep track of numbers and camp site reservations.

That makes sense. Thanks for info. I know those who hike Longs Peak normally do it up and back down in one day, starting early enough to be off the summit when afternoon T'Storms could arrive. And it does seem true, as all the hiking I've done, uphill even, in NP's have never required permits. I guess they are more of a way to keep track of people who hike off into wilderness and back country areas, and will be gone for more than a couple days. Micah's car being at the trailhead was proof enough that he was there and had not returned.