Colorado Mountain Fall Kills Kansas Teen

A suburban Kansas City teenager who died last week while climbing one of Colorado’s most popular peaks was a 2014 high school graduate who excelled in engineering.

18-year-old Nicholas Hellbusch of Lenexa, Kansas, died Friday morning after apparently falling while climbing above the standard route to the summit of Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Evidence at the scene indicates the Shawnee Mission South High School graduate struck his head while falling.

A climber notified park rangers around 7 a.m. that he and his group had seen the body. Rangers reached the area at 10:15 a.m. and confirmed Hellbusch was dead.

A U.S. Forest Service helicopter recovered his body and took it to the Boulder County Coroner’s Office.

Associated Press information from: The Kansas City Star