TELLURIDE — Authorities say an Arizona woman fell about 200 feet (61 meters) to her death while climbing the via ferrata route in Telluride.
The Telluride Daily Planet reports 53-year-old Anissa Laverne Larson, of Tucson, was traversing the route with a friend Thursday morning when she apparently slipped and fell. The San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office says a climber behind Larson on the same ridge heard something alarming, turned and saw the woman below. He immediately called 911.
Rescuers set up a technical rope system to recover the body.
Sheriff Bill Masters says the accident “is a horrible reminder of the dangers inherent to this climb.”
Via ferrata routes allow climbers to scale iron rungs and footholds attached to rock walls. Climbers are secured by carabiner-like clips attached to cables. Investigators have not released any information about how Larson fell.