There were several incidents of climbers hit by rockfall or falling after rocks gave way in 2014. In January a high schooler was injured after falling 60 feet scaling a rock face in Ken Caryl Open Space. In April a man was injured after being struck by a boulder that fell while climbing in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. In June a man was injured when a rock gave way scaling El Diente. In July, one climber died and another was injured in separate incidents on Long's Peak. In August 3 rescuers were injured on Capitol Peak when hikers above triggered rock fall. The rescuers were recovering the body of a man that fell while climbing Capitol. In September, a hunter fell and died near North Maroon Peak. In October, the rotten rock of North Maroon claimed more victims, one died and his companion was injured in falls off the mountain.
In March a snowstorm caused a 104 car pileup on I-25, killing 1 and injuring 30. Severe weather in late spring and early summer spawned tornadoes, high winds, baseball-sized hail and lightning. Lightning strikes were deadly for tourists on Trail Ridge Road this year with 2 killed and 7 injured on a July weekend. A Canadian running the Hardrock 100 mile race was struck by lightning but he kept going and finished the race. An Arvada man was struck by lightning while watching a thunderstorm from his garage. 2 students sought shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm in Denver and were struck by lightning. Tornado season was light with an average number of tornadoes but all were F0 or F1. A man was killed in SE Colorado when his trailer collapsed in high winds. Hail storms in May and June caused over $100 million in damages - roofing contractors were happy.
With the continuation of the wet weather, the drought ended and wildfires were few and far between. One large wildfire burned over 20,000 acres in an uninhabited area of western Colorado.
Skiing in the trees and avalanches took a heavy toll in 2014 with 10 killed and 7 injured. In January a snowboarder died after hitting a tree at Aspen and 1 died and 3 were injured in an avalanche at east Vail. In February, 2 skiers were killed and 3 injured in backcountry avalanches near Leadville. Also In February a backcountry skier died in an avalanche near Keystone, a skier at Keystone died after hitting a tree, and 1 snowmobiler was killed and 1 injured in an avalanche near Crested Butte. In March a German snowboarder died after hitting a tree near Snowmass. Also in March a Texas woman died after hitting a tree sledding and a ski patroller was killed in an avalanche at Wolf Creek. Just yesterday, Dec 31 a climber attempting a snowshoe climb of Grays and Torrey was killed in an avalanche.
Wildlife encounters seemed to be more than usual in 2014. A rare coyote attack in the east campus at Boulder resulted in a bite on the arm for a surprised student. Bears were up to their usual shenanigans, breaking into houses, opening car doors and climbing in, and 3 that decided to nap around a hot tub. Speaking of napping, a baby moose took a nap in the lobby of a Vail hotel in June. Bears were very active this year with 3 separate incidents of injuries after bear attacks. Most of the bear activity and incidents were in the Roaring Fork Valley from Aspen to Glenwood Springs. More than 10 problem bears were euthanized by Colorado Parks and Wildlife during 2014. Moose incidents are becoming more common as the moose population grows and expands throughout Colorado. Both moose and elk attacks are most often the result of hikers letting their dogs run off-leash. The theory is that the animals think the dogs are wolves, a long-time predator. It doesn't help when tourists surround an animal to take selfies like 8 people did in Vail in April. In January a woman with dogs in Edwards was injured in an elk attack. In February a woman in Steamboat Springs with off-leash dogs was injured in a moose attack. Motorcyclists had a rough year with 2 people killed and 3 injured after hitting wildlife. A girl died after her dad crashed into Boulder Creek avoiding a bear on the road in June. There were snowmobile-moose collisions at Grand Lake in February. Overall, there were about 4,000 wildlife-vehicle collisions that were reported. There were the usual number of mountain lion sightings along with pets that were consumed in 2014. 2 encounters in 2014 were near-attack situations with the cougars exhibiting aggressive and threatening behavior but as is the norm, there were no injuries.
The number of animals testing positive for diseases was generally on the rise in Colorado in 2014. Rabid animal reports seem to be on the rise in wildlife this year along with tularemia. An elderly woman was bitten by a rabid bat in her home in Pueblo. 11 people contracted tularemia in 2014, the highest number since the 1980's. All cases were successfully treated. There were 6 cases of plague reported. One man died after contracting plague from his dog. 2 men died of hantavirus. There were 114 cases of West Nile virus reported as shown on the map below.
An oil field waste water injection well near Trinidad is the probable cause of several earthquakes in the area during 2014. Earlier in the year officials shut down a waste injection well in Greeley because of earthquakes.The rest of Colorado had 2 minor earthquakes reported.
It looks like a lot of casualties but the chances of being injured are extremely low. You can read all about it in my book.
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