ASPEN, Colo. — Despite some frostbite on his fingers and an injured arm, Ryan Montoya is celebrating his survival. He was about to summit Pyramid Peak near the Maroon Bells when he suddenly slipped, falling what he believes to be between 1,500 to 2,000 feet to the ground below.
“My goggles were all fogged out. So I don’t really remember much, except some big drops, and a lot of sliding and some impacts. I think I even started praying at one point. I just wasn’t really sure what was going to happen,” Montoya told Denver7. “I think at the point, more than any other time, I thought I was going to die.”
The intensity of his descent was so strong that part of his helmet was ripped apart.
“I couldn’t believe I was conscious through the whole thing. Every time I hit something, I’m like, ‘I’m still going, it’s not over?'”
Eventually he was able to stop, situating himself on the slope. His phone was broken but his backpack was full of food. For two days, he was stuck in the elements.
“So falling I was feeling like I was going to die. And then after I landed, I was like, ‘that’s still a pretty good chance.'”
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