A corporate retreat went awry for a group of colleagues hiking in Colorado on August 23.
“A situation that could cause some awkward situations at the office in the coming days and weeks: a member of their group was left to their own devices to reach the summit,” Chaffee County Search and Rescue summarized in a Facebook post.
The 15 employees started hiking in the Rockies together at sunrise.
One group was to go to the summit of Mount Shavano while a second group planned to stop at the pass and descend, according to the publication.
Photo from Facebook/Chaffee County Search and Rescue
The person, who has not been identified, reached the summit around 11:30 a.m.
But when the individual began his descent, he became disoriented, particularly because the items left to indicate the descent had been picked up by the group as they descended.
After trying to find the right way down for the first time, the employee ended up on the wrong track.
Photo from Facebook/Chaffee County Search and Rescue
Concerned for his safety, he sent his location to his colleagues who had already begun their descent.
His colleagues informed him that he was on the wrong track and advised him to go back up the slope to get back on the right track.
Around 3:50 p.m., according to Chaffee County Search and Rescue, the lost employee again sent his location to his co-workers and texted them to let them know he was near the runway.
Disoriented a second time
Shortly after his message to his colleagues, a violent storm hit the area bringing freezing rain and strong winds.
The lost colleague was again disoriented by the storm and lost cellular reception.
The search and rescue group received a call about his disappearance around 9pm and searched throughout the night until 9am on Saturday morning.
Photo from Facebook/Chaffee County Search and Rescue
As teams prepared to return to the field after receiving reinforcements, the missing man managed to find enough cell reception to call 911, which allowed him to be located.
He told rescuers that he was very disoriented during his descent and fell about 20 times.
After his last fall, he was unable to get up, but fortunately had enough cell signal to call for help.
The person was taken to hospital for treatment.
The name of the company for which the employees who were on corporate retirement work has not been released, nor the name of the person who had to be rescued.
