Colorado woman, 26, dies after 500-foot fall while free-solo climbing

A woman fell nearly 500 feet to her death Sunday while free-solo climbing at Rocky Mountain National Park.

The unidentified 26-year-old from Boulder was climbing the Four Aces of Blitzen Ridge, located on the 13,500-foot tall Ypsilon Mountain in the east side of the park without ropes or other protective equipment when she apparently lost her grip.

'This young couple flew by my brother and I on the way to Spectacle Lakes yesterday with very small packs and climbing axes, so when the SAR choppers started, I thought they might be the cause,' one man recounted on .

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