Peter Kubiniec, John James Coffee Obituary, Death – A 23-year-old individual from Boulder and a 21-year-old from Arizona tragically lost their lives due to fatal falls in the Colorado high country on the same day last month. Peter Kubiniec and John James Coffee perished in separate incidents on Monday, July 22. Adverse weather conditions and challenging terrain hindered the recovery effort The bodies of both men were retrieved from their remote locations by helicopter on Wednesday, July 24. The recovery efforts were hindered by adverse weather conditions and challenging terrain.
Kubiniec, a resident of Boulder, was reported missing the following morning after he did not return from an extensive hike across the Continental Divide. The individual who reported him missing informed authorities that Kubiniec had intended to hike from Brainard Lake over Pawnee Pass to Crater Lake and Lone Eagle Peak within the Indian Peaks Wilderness, with plans to return via Apache Peak.
On Tuesday afternoon, hikers discovered Kubiniec deceased in the vicinity of Lone Eagle Peak, a picturesque summit situated just below 12,000 feet in elevation. The Grand County Search and Rescue team suspended its recovery efforts by mid-afternoon on Tuesday, but operations resumed the next morning with assistance from Colorado Search and Rescue (CSAR) State Coordinators and a Colorado Division of Fire Protection and Control (DFPC) Helitac crew based in Canon City. The aircraft transported four technical rope specialists from the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group (RMRG) to the site, as reported by the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.
The Grand County Coroner’s Office determined that Kubiniec died from multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the fall. Coffee, a resident of Prescott, Arizona, fell approximately 800 feet from a ridge situated between two 14,000-foot peaks, roughly 20 miles southwest of Telluride. According to the San Miguel Sheriff’s Office, Coffee fell southward while navigating a challenging section between El Diente and Mount Wilson.
The Sheriff’s Office’s social media update characterized Coffee as an experienced hiker. Search efforts involved aircraft from three different agencies, while ground crews were deployed from both San Miguel and Dolores counties.
Coffee’s obituary notes that he was in his final year of studying cyber intelligence.
