Cold case Michelle Vanek, Vail, CO , Mt Holy Cross

[Rideski]

Mysterious case of Michelle Vanek: 18 years after she vanished on a 14er, a clue to her disappearance is found Vanek and her hiking partner split up on Mount of the Holy Cross, and she was never seen again. A newly discovered clue might explain what happened on that fall day.
https://www.9news.com/mobile/article...6-1453eb97e216

[MakersTeleMark]

Uncanny that I had a very in-depth conversation with a hiker I met in Leadville yesterday about Michelle.
FYI, Angelica is a great ski line if you run out of gas for the cross, or you want a shorter day.

[Rideski]

I figured you knew the couliar, if not the person or search team.

[fleaches]

Interesting. I was hiking around there last weekend and was wondering if this was ever solved.

When it happened I was in high school in Eagle County and it was all over the news.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Rideski]

I've had multiple dozens of great trips up 14ers, but makes me ponder a few missteps along the travels.

[Rideski]

Now that they have a location are people going back up before heavy snow?

[TBS]

The boot was found last year, according to your article

[Rideski]

Oh weird missed that. Presumably nothing else found. Even more weird.

[TBS]

Not being a Coloradical, I’m learning about this for the first time. Assuming that article is a good recap, I have two thoughts
1. Profound sadness for the husband and especially the kids.

2. A major WTF WERE YOU THINKING??? for the guy who took her on this hike. So many fuckups, it should be a case study in an Outdoor Leadership class. He’s right to keep his head down.

[brutah]

2. A major WTF WERE YOU THINKING??? for the guy who took her on this hike. So many fuckups, it should be a case study in an Outdoor Leadership class. He’s right to keep his head down.

That’s not really fair… 999 out of 1000 times this wouldn’t have resulted like this. I’ve done this plenty of times. Shoot, my now wife and I once turned around on this same very mountain after our hair started to stand up because of lightning in the area but had that not been the case, I may have ditched her for the summit. Hindsight is 20/20.

People make mistakes

[yeahman]

If you're going to ditch somebody for the summit it needs to be a clearly understood "Wait right here until I come down" situation. Not "Go that way and look for the trail, which you may or may not find."

I've turned around a few times because of weaker partners, and finally I just resolved to never ever go with somebody I'm not 100% sure is up to the task. I'd rather go alone.

Anyway, sad story. RIP

[muted reborn]

That’s not really fair… 999 out of 1000 times this wouldn’t have resulted like this. I’ve done this plenty of times. Shoot, my now wife and I once turned around on this same very mountain after our hair started to stand up because of lightning in the area but had that not been the case, I may have ditched her for the summit. Hindsight is 20/20.

People make mistakes

True. This is a one in a million outcome IMO, and the reporting shouldn't be taken as gospel. Don't assume anything.

[brutah]

If you're going to ditch somebody for the summit it needs to be a clearly understood "Wait right here until I come down" situation. Not "Go that way and look for the trail, which you may or may not find."

I've turned around a few times because of weaker partners, and finally I just resolved to never ever go with somebody I'm not 100% sure is up to the task. If rather go alone.

Anyway, sad story. RIP

yeahman, I agree with ya. And I actually turn around with weaker partners much more often nowadays than in my youth as my summit fever has cooled. Certainly a sad story, and I feel for the husband, kids and her partner that day.

Beating up her partner for continuing on does nothing at this point. ultimately, her death (if she truly did get lost and die on the mountain) was because she lost the trail. we all bear personal responsibility for our own actions and when recreating outdoors. No one should rely on others when shit hits the fan, particularly in remote wilderness areas.

Either way, RIP. I hope her family and her partner have found peace by now

[garyfromterrace]

If you're going to ditch somebody for the summit it needs to be a clearly understood "Wait right here until I come down" situation. Not "Go that way and look for the trail, which you may or may not find."

Yeah man.

[TBS]

That’s not really fair… 999 out of 1000 times this wouldn’t have resulted like this. I’ve done this plenty of times. Shoot, my now wife and I once turned around on this same very mountain after our hair started to stand up because of lightning in the area but had that not been the case, I may have ditched her for the summit. Hindsight is 20/20.

People make mistakes

It’s totally fair. “Everybody is responsible for their own everything” may be fine with experienced traveling companions. But leading a total JONG on her first 14’r he had a responsibility for her safety.

He either didn’t coach her when she showed up with inadequate clothing, food and water and brand fucking new boots, or he didn’t think about it. Not good either way.

And like yeahman sez, you don’t send an exhausted, dehydrated, calorie-deprived JONG with possible altitude sickness to find an unfamiliar trail on their own because you have summit fever. That’s inexcusable.

The mountain is still there - she’s not.

[Danno]

Did he make mistakes? Absolutely, and I have zero doubt that he has punished himself over the years way more than y'all are doing with a "what the fuck was he thinking" post. That said, they are mistakes that are made over and over and don't generally lead to tragedy.

The posts strike me as very similar to the avalanche accident threads, where everyone in hindsight can see what an awful decision was made and see how bad decisions CAN lead to tragedy. Just as in those circumstances, it can be helpful to examine the mistakes that were made, but it isn't helpful to berate the person who made the mistakes.

[Cruiser]

I have a small personal connection to this case and have been patiently waiting for more info since the boot was discovered last year but nothing so far

[Danno]

And while she had never climbed a 14er, as the article points out she was very fit, and both she and her partner probably didn't accurately assess her abilities (both at the trailhead and at the point they separated). And according to the article, she told him to go on, and they could see the hikers on the trail that she was headed to. Clearly, they made errors, but just dumping it all on the survivor's feet, without regard for her role in her own death and without regard for how people make mistakes all the time and only very rarely do those mistakes have consequences such as this, seems out of line to me.

[Dantheman]

Agreed, Danno. It is a big caveat that we only know his account of the story, but her family thinks he's credible. It's fine to use this as a teachable moment or case study, but there's no need to pile on. He probably has incredible survivor's guilt. The poor guy was even a murder suspect for a while.

The key mistake was not splitting up, it was not turning around when they realized they were on the wrong trail and way behind schedule.

[Buke]

Agreed, Danno. It is a big caveat that we only know his account of the story, but her family thinks he's credible. It's fine to use this as a teachable moment or case study, but there's no need to pile on. He probably has incredible survivor's guilt. The poor guy was even a murder suspect for a while.

The key mistake was not splitting up, it was not turning around when they realized they were on the wrong trail and way behind schedule.

The only thing I know about the story is what was published in the article so my opinion isn't worth much. Certainly lots of mistakes made (getting on the wrong trail, not bailing earlier, splitting up, etc) but from what the article says, it is pretty easy to imagine myself making the same mistakes at one point or another. People saying they shouldn't have split up are right but that's pretty easy to point out in hindsight.

According to the article, they were only about 400' below the summit. It doesn't seem that unreasonable to say, "I'm going to go tag the summit and descend the trail, you scramble across the hill on the contour line to that trail that we've been watching people go up and down on and is only 1/4 mile away in open terrain. And the fact that she had never summited a 14er doesn't mean that she was a total novice. Sometimes it takes experience to realize the importance of total preparation. Once in a while that experience is too expensive. It's a bummer but from the sound of it, it's really just a fluke accident.

[Core Shot]

I have a small personal connection to this case and have been patiently waiting for more info since the boot was discovered last year but nothing so far

Vibes.

Weird that the article claims we all disintegrate in the wild. Not so. Large bones should be around somewhere. Even if animals gnaw on them and scatter them.

Sad story.

[Cruiser]

I'm honestly a little surprised that amateur detectives aren't in there now (perhaps they are and just haven't found anything yet) since they mentioned the base of the Angelica couloir specifically in this article. If memory serves, the location of the boot hadn't been made publicly available after it was initially found.

[Rideski]

Although I did more than skim, I did read the article fast. Don't recall them talking about an animal relocating the boot. Doesn't seem unlikely, at least by a thousand yards or more. As well as snow transport. But still, narrows the window a lot.

[tang]

Critters certainly eat boots, but I doubt one would lug it up and over from somewhere on the west side. Almost certain she headed down angelica and sadly perished. Then run how many avy and melt cycles through there over the years, and a boot ends up near the bottom. That area is tough to navigate, even with snow (from what I hear), but surprised searches didn’t check that way. Lots of accidents where people get lured down dry couloirs - like Capitol in 2017.
Sad, vibes. Hopefully some closure.

[MakersTeleMark]

There is no way to get to the top of Angelica from 400' from the summit of MHC without dropping off to the West. It's impossible. You would have to climb into the cross couloir which tops out right at the summit, then climb out onto the ridge that separates it from Angelica, then climb into Angelica. Impossible.

What likely happened is they were on Halo Ridge, 99% around to the East Ridge, she pooped out, skirted the summit to the West and took her 1st right into Angelica instead of staying on the ridge all the way down, slipped, tomahawked and ended up at the bottom. She would have been a pulp at that point.

Take a look on Google Earth. It's pretty straightforward and easy to draw out. Most people who go lost dip west due to weather and tough route finding on the large talus slope leading to the summit but coming from the opposite side.