Read more: Local, State, Community, Environment, Weather, Outdoors, Pikes Peak Granite, Hiking, Lightning, Special Report, Colorado Springs, Pueblo
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Pikes Peak is a beautiful destination for tourists and locals. Many people hike the many trails in and near the region. However, two things unique to the area can be potentially deadly.
Pikes Peak granite is the pinkish gravelly rock that is unique to the Front Range of Colorado, especially near the mountain it is named after. Created long ago from volcanic formations, the brittle rock is made partially of feldspar. The eroded feldspar makes the rock unstable and easy to crumble. Overhangs and rock ledges can break off very easily, which has caused injury and deaths around southern Colorado.
The best way to avoid danger is to stay on trails and carefully watch your path. When trying to find a good spot to sightsee, make sure you are not near an edge or anything that could break off. Of course, this is especially a problem when rock climbing.
Weather is also a problem. Snowstorms and thunderstorms roll in with very little warning, but lightning can be even more mysterious. Years ago, a teenager was killed on Pikes Peak when a cloud seven miles away produced a lightning bolt that struck him as he was climbing above treeline.
Steve Sperry with El Paso County Search and Rescue says he has gone on many calls and seen many cases where people are caught in lightning. Keep in mind, especially around the mountains, lightning can occur without rain.
Always monitor weather forecasts.
