Climbing
Aspen-Sopris District Rangers are asking the public for help in finding the iconic “Deadly Bells” warning sign that was stolen last summer. A thief was able to unbolt a metal post and make off with the sign that once stood near Maroon Lake and the trailhead that is the gateway to the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area.
“Someone obviously removed it and walked away with it,” said Karen Schroyer, district ranger of the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District
The sign was placed in a strategic location where hikers and climbers would see the sign on their approach and warned those about to tackle one of the 14ers that these “are not extreme technical climbs, but they are unbelievably deceptive. The rock is downsloping, rotten, loose and unstable. It kills quickly and without warning.” The sign’s bottom line message was clear and concise: “DO NOT ATTEMPT CLIMB IF NOT QUALIFIED”.
Rangers say the sign was stolen during the Summer of 2017. That Summer saw five deaths on Capitol Peak and one on the Maroon Bells and just this last weekend search and rescue were out on Saturday and Sunday rescuing hikers.
If you have any information on the theft, please contact the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District.
