A Fort Collins man fell to his death on the snowslopes above Emerald Lake on June 7th, 2008.

Decorated Vietnam Veteran dies in fall on snow in RMNP 

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From the Fort Collins Coloradoan

Published on June 9th, 2008 

A decorated Vietnam veteran and marathon runner died Saturday in a 500-foot fall down a steep snow slope in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Richard Frisbie, 66, had recently retired and moved to Fort Collins about a year ago from Overland Park, Kan., his family said Sunday.

Frisbie was mountaineering on the west side of the park above Emerald Lake approximately 2.5 miles from the Bear Lake Trailhead when he fell and broke his neck, according to Larimer County Coroner’s office.

He was wearing crampons and a helmet when he fell.

Witnesses saw Frisbie fall. A witness called the park at 3 p.m. from a cell phone. When witnesses reached the man at 3:15 he had suffered massive trauma, had no pulse and appeared to have died during the fall. Park rangers arrived on scene at 5:05 p.m.

                        The steep snow slopes above the west end of Emerald Lake in RMNP in May of 2008. 

Rangers reached the trailhead with the victim’s body at 10 p.m.

Frisbie graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 1963 with a degree in electrical engineering.

He was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his service in the Air Force as a first lieutenant during the Vietnam War.

His family also said he was an accomplished athlete and ran the Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 38 minutes in his mid-40s.

He leaves behind his wife, April, two children, a stepdaughter, and three grandchildren.

Goes Funeral Home, 3665 Canal Dr., is handling funeral arrangement for Frisbie.

Eli's note:  My sincere condolences go out to Richard's family and friends who are also victims of this very unfortunate accident. 

Hopefully this unnecessary death can be a reminder to us all that steep snow is a potentially dangerous element on which to climb and that falling is often not an option.  A survey found in the annual AAC's Accidents in North American Mountaineering, shows that falls or slips on snow are the second highest cause of injury or death in climbing.  A person falling on a snow surface as low as 30 degrees in steepness has the potential of reaching free-falling speeds within a short distance and serious injuries are a likely result.  Self-arrest of a fall is not always possible and so proper climbing technique and/or a solid belay are the ideal remedies for prevention of this all too common type of accident.