from KRCR

Climber reveals survival tale after 2,000 ft. fall from mountain

By: Kelli Saam

PARADISE, Calif. – A mountain climber from Butte County survived two days in the snow after falling about 2,000 feet from a mountain summit in Colorado. Doctors in Colorado told his family it’s a fall no one would be expected to survive.

Ryan Montoya, 23, of Paradise, is recovering in a Denver hospital. He went missing Sunday while climbing alone trying to summit Pyramid Peak, a 14,000 foot peak near Aspen, Colorado.

Montoya’s mother said he was about 40 feet from the summit when the ice he stepped on collapsed, sending him sliding down the mountain. She shared what he told her about how he survived.

Montoya slid an estimated 1,500-2,000 feet down East face of the mountain, later telling his mother he fell long enough “to do a lot of talking, thinking and yelling all the way down.”

His mother said two weeks ago he published a book available on Amazon. The book is called ‘The Pilgrim’s Ladder.’  It is about climbing, life, the search for beauty and truth, with some philosophical musings. Montoya is an avid climber and has traveled to the mountains of Nepal.

On facebook, his mother quipped “It would be nice if he sold enough copies for pay for a new climbing helmet!”

[ click to read full article at KRCR ]
[ click to purchase Ryan’s book at Amazon ]