Last month, two young men lost their lives in fatal falls in the Colorado high country. One was a 23-year-old man from Boulder, while the other was a 21-year-old man from Arizona.
Tragic news struck on Monday, July 22, with the separate deaths of Peter Kubiniec and John James Coffee in two unrelated accidents.
The next day, Boulder resident Kubiniec was reported missing after not coming back from a long journey through the Continental Divide. According to the individual who reported him overdue, Kubiniec had planned to hike from Brainard Lake to Crater Lake and Lone Eagle Peak in the Indian Peaks Wilderness by crossing Pawnee Pass. He had intended to return by crossing over Apache Peak.
Around midday on Tuesday, hikers discovered the lifeless body of Kubiniec in the vicinity of Lone Eagle Peak. This breathtaking peak, located at an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet, features a pointed summit and is renowned for its scenic beauty.
On Tuesday afternoon, Grand County Search and Rescue put a halt to its recovery operation. However, with the assistance of Colorado Search and Rescue (CSAR) State Coordinators and a Colorado Division of Fire Protection and Control (DFPC) Helitac and crew out of Canon City, the search resumed the following morning. The Grand County Sheriff’s Office reported that the aircraft transported four technical rope specialists from Rocky Mountain Rescue Group (RMRG) to the site.
According to the Grand County Coroner’s Office, Kubiniec passed away due to sustaining several blunt force injuries from a fall.
According to the San Miguel Sheriff’s Office, a resident of Prescott, Ariz. named Coffee, fell nearly 800 feet from a ridge located between two peaks standing at 14,000 feet, roughly 20 miles southwest of Telluride. This incident occurred while Coffee was traversing a challenging section between Mount Wilson and El Diente, leading to a southward fall.
According to the social media post from the office, Coffee is an experienced hiker.
Three different agencies utilized aircraft to conduct the search, while ground crews were dispatched from San Miguel and Dolores counties.
According to his obituary, Coffee was in the midst of completing his cyber intelligence and security program at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. During his first year at the university, he developed a passion for climbing and had successfully scaled numerous peaks, including Arizona’s Humphreys Peak, California’s Mount Whitney, and 41 fourteeners in Colorado.
According to the obituary, the individual was aware of the dangers of climbing. A few months prior, he had been climbing Mount Whitney when two seasoned climbers lost their lives. Despite this, he expressed to his parents that if he were to pass away while climbing, they should not feel sorrow because he would have been doing what he loved.
The university honored Coffee with a degree after their passing.
