Eric Robinson found at Allsop Lake

[Dave]

Human Remains Located in the Uintahs

August 24, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Summit County – Uintah Mountains – Allsop Lake – On August 19, 2016, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office received information that human remains had been located near Allsop Lake. Allsop Lake is in the high Uintah Mountains on the border of the Summit County/Duchesne County line and along he Highline Trail.

On July 7, 2011, the Duchesne County and Summit County Sheriff’s Offices received a report of a missing male. The missing male was identified as Eric Robertson from Australia. Eric was reported as an experienced outdoorsman who had recreated in the Himalayan Mountains. Mr. Robinson had been dropped off at the Chepeta Lake Trailhead on July 28, 2011 and was scheduled to arrive at Mirror Lake on July 7th 2011 at 1200 hours.

On July 8, 2011, the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office deployed Search and Rescue in an attempt to locate Eric Robinson. After several weeks of searching, Eric Robinson was not located. Over several years, and working with a number of assisting agencies, the search continued with no success.

On August 19, 2016, a father and two sons from Coalville were recreating near Allsop Lake when they located a backpack, tent, and what appeared to be human remains. This location is located on the Highline Trailhead approximately 500 yards inside Summit County from Duchesne County.

Summit County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrived in the area and recovered human remains and several personal items. The remains were transported to the Office of the Medical Examiner and were confirmed to be human. Further DNA testing is required to confirm the identity of the remains. Due to the proximity to the personal belongings, the human remains are believed to be those of Eric Robinson.

 

[Jackson]

Wow! Thanks for sharing, Dave. Good that his family has some closure now.

It'll be interesting to see the coroner's report since he was found with his tent and his supplies (presumably his sleeping bag).

 

[Nick]

WOW! That is surprising on a number of levels. Obviously the fact that he was in even in the Allsop basin, but that it went undiscovered for five years in such a popular area. That sounds like maybe his tent was even setup?

 

[andyjaggy]

I was there last year and walked around quite a bit above and around the lake, I am wondering where in the world he was. It sounds like it may have very well been a health related death, heart attack or stroke.

 

[Dan]

Hey guys,

I was at Allsop Lake Thursday and Friday when this all went down. It was surreal to say the least. I can clarify any questions. Here's my post on Facebook explaining my perspective.


Last Friday, we were sipping coffee in camp at Allsop Lake when a man approached our camp explaining he and his sons had found human remains above the lake the night before, and wondered if we had any way to call in SAR. I was able to use my satellite communicator to get in touch with my brother, who coordinated the recovery efforts with the Summit County Sheriff's office.

On Thursday night, our group made our way from Deadhorse Lake to Allsop Lake, following the same route that Eric was likely following. It requires crossing Allsop Pass, which is fairly straightforward from the Deadhorse side, but very complex on the Allsop side if you aren't familiar with it. What follows is my opinion, but based on the scene and our own experience navigating the same route it seems he must have been trying to pick his way down the cliffs to Allsop Lake when he fell.

Most obvious question people are going to ask today is how he ended up so far from the Highline Trail, especially when almost all of the search was concentrated along that trail 5 years ago (most of it in Yellowstone drainage, which is quite a long ways from this location) The answer is pretty simple - from Deadhorse Lake, the trail up to Deadhorse Pass actually looks rather unlikely (especially in 2011 which was a high snow year, and the pass still would have had drifts on it). It's a steep massive pass. If you weren't navigating carefully, you could look west to Allsop Pass, see a much more gentle slope, and assume that was actually the correct route of the Highline Trail. In fact, there are remains of a decent trail on Allsop, that could easily convince someone they were in the right place.

However, once you reach the top of Allsop Pass, the signs of a trail disappear. The first route down the other side you encounter is a very steep and very intimidating looking couloir. Most of our group did not want to go down that couloir, and I can imagine Eric probably did not either, especially being solo. The next thing to do would be to find an alternate route down. Unfortunately, there are only two options, if you don't use the couloir you must traverse the ridge a half mile to the north, and find a very steep and loose scree scramble. Along the ridge, there are occasionally cairns marking the way. But often, these cairns are not clear, and could actually encourage someone to leave the ridge prematurely, in search of a route through the cliffs.

The other question people will ask is why it took so long to find his remains, especially when this isn't exactly the most remote area of the Uintas. In short, he was found on the Summit County side of the Uinta crest. The majority of the Highline Trail is in Duchesne County. The only exception being the small stretch from Red Knob pass to Deadhorse Pass. If he truly went off trail at Deadhorse, and crossed Allsop Pass, he would have been in Summit County, not Duchesne, and far enough away from the Highline that it would have been an unlikely location to search. Duchesne County handled most of the original SAR logistics, expecting that he was on or near the Highline Trail. Additionally, the area below the cliffs is very rugged terrain, even though it is very close to popular camps at Allsop Lake.

My best guess, after being on the pass and at the recovery on Friday, is that this is most likely what happened. My heart goes out to his family. I hope that after 5 years this discovery at least helps to shed some more light on what might have happened, and they are able to find some more closure.

 

[Nick]

Thanks for the information @Dan.

 

[Dan]

WOW! That is surprising on a number of levels. Obviously the fact that he was in even in the Allsop basin, but that it went undiscovered for five years in such a popular area. That sounds like maybe his tent was even setup?

I think his tent was actually just separated from his pack, it was not set up. Most everything was in his pack still.

 

[Dan]

Also, not super important but the dates in the press release are incorrect. He was reported missing in August 2011, not July. Only matters when you consider the amount of snow that was present in 2011, and the difference between July and August, especially on Deadhorse Pass would have been significant.

Also, his name is Eric Robinson, not Eric Robertson.

 

[Dave]

Also, not super important but the dates in the press release are incorrect. He was reported missing in August 2011, not July. Only matters when you consider the amount of snow that was present in 2011, and the difference between July and August, especially on Deadhorse Pass would have been significant.

Also, his name is Eric Robinson, not Eric Robertson.

Summit County issued an updated press release after I posted, correcting the dates.

 

[Devo]

Most obvious question people are going to ask today is how he ended up so far from the Highline Trail, especially when almost all of the search was concentrated along that trail 5 years ago (most of it in Yellowstone drainage, which is quite a long ways from this location) The answer is pretty simple - from Deadhorse Lake, the trail up to Deadhorse Pass actually looks rather unlikely (especially in 2011 which was a high snow year, and the pass still would have had drifts on it). It's a steep massive pass. If you weren't navigating carefully, you could look west to Allsop Pass, see a much more gentle slope, and assume that was actually the correct route of the Highline Trail. In fact, there are remains of a decent trail on Allsop, that could easily convince someone they were in the right place.

The first time I did Deadhorse pass I remember wondering where the heck the trail actually made its way up, you can't tell at all until you are right on it. I agree Allsop pass had to have looked a lot more promising that year. I wouldn't be surprised if foot prints in snow drifts lead him that way. Tragic story, I am glad that the family has closure now. Amazing how even in a high volume are like Allsop a resting place can go undiscovered for so long. Makes you understand why recovery efforts can be so difficult.

 

[slc_dan]

Thanks for the info @Dave, and @Dan. I know @Artemus will find a lot of interest in this thread when he gets out of the Wind Rivers. He went looking for this fellow when he was lost.

Makes the Uinta's feel a little more wild that he wasn't found for so long.

 

[Dave]

I think his tent was actually just separated from his pack, it was not set up. Most everything was in his pack still.

Yes, the tent was loose from the pack but it was not pitched.

 

[Hurakan]

Not a lot of good info on crossing the passes or shortcuts in the Uintas. I can see people getting into trouble. If you take your time its so bad, but that's always the case. Had to be a bad way to go, and a tough one for his family. Good job Dan! I really think having a sat Com is well worth the cost and weight.

 

[Nick]

Not a lot of good info on crossing the passes or shortcuts in the Uintas. I can see people getting into trouble. If you take your time its so bad, but that's always the case. Had to be a bad way to go, and a tough one for his family. Good job Dan! I really think having a sat Com is well worth the cost and weight.

I don't think it was a lack of info on the passes or shortcuts that caused this to happen. It seems to have just been a navigational error that took him off the main trail. He never should have been on that pass to begin with. And he did have a satellite messenger, it just doesn't do much good if you are unable to deploy it (unless you leave tracking on).

 

[Nick]

Another thought on the use of satellite messengers. We know that he had a Spot messenger but apparently did not use it, or perhaps it didn't work. I read something back when this all happened that his may have been configured for the southern hemisphere and therefore wouldn't speak to our northern hemisphere satellites. If he had been sending out OK messages from each of his camp locations, it's likely that search crews could have at least narrowed the search zone, eliminating much of the terrain that was searched the heaviest. So I guess that's a solid +1 for satellite communicators, even if you only use them to send an OK each night.

EDIT: I crossed out some things. My brain must be playing tricks on me, there doesn't appear to be any evidence that he was carrying a Spot, but more likely a PLB only for emergencies.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

And he did have a satellite messenger, it just doesn't do much good if you are unable to deploy it (unless you leave tracking on).

That's exactly why I always leave tracking on. In case I get knocked unconscious and can't call for help, at least it would help narrow down a starting point for a search.

 

[Dan]

Another thought on the use of satellite messengers. We know that he had a Spot messenger but apparently did not use it, or perhaps it didn't work. I read something back when this all happened that his may have been configured for the southern hemisphere and therefore wouldn't speak to our northern hemisphere satellites. If he had been sending out OK messages from each of his camp locations, it's likely that search crews could have at least narrowed the search zone, eliminating much of the terrain that was searched the heaviest. So I guess that's a solid +1 for satellite communicators, even if you only use them to send an OK each night.

I think he might have had a PLB, not a SPOT. But now I'm not sure. I was under the impression it was a personal locator beacon.

 

[Dan]

I don't think it was a lack of info on the passes or shortcuts that caused this to happen. It seems to have just been a navigational error that took him off the main trail. He never should have been on that pass to begin with. And he did have a satellite messenger, it just doesn't do much good if you are unable to deploy it (unless you leave tracking on).

Good point. But it may not have even been a navigational error - he might have seen all the snow on Dead Horse Pass and just wanted to find a different route. We know that he had experienced trouble with snow on Anderson Pass already, and Dead Horse would have almost certainly been more treacherous. Maybe he started up Dead Horse and made the deliberate decision to try Allsop.

My original interpretation of the scene was that he probably made a navigational error. After chatting with more people I regret that I implied that, it is very possible he made those decisions by choice.

I don't think we'll ever know why he made it up on Allsop, all we know for certain is that he was there.

 

[andyjaggy]

I can't imagine someone setting out to do the highline trail wasn't well aware of the route and the different passes involved. Do we know if he had a physical map on him? I have a hard time believing that he could have unintentionally mistook the ridge between Deadhorse and Allsop as Deadhorse Pass. That he would have left the pretty well defined trail, and headed across the entire basin off trail and never bothered to check if he was in the right place or not. My personal bet would be that he saw all the snow on Deadhorse Pass and made a deliberate attempt at an alternate route. I suppose we will likely never know for sure.

 

[Nick]

I think he might have had a PLB, not a SPOT. But now I'm not sure. I was under the impression it was a personal locator beacon.

Back in 2011 I read somewhere that it was a Spot and about how the whole north/south hemisphere thing was a potential issue, but it's been so long that I could be remembering wrong. Who knows.

EDIT: I can't find anything about it now, just vague references to a PLB, so yeah, probably not a Spot. Maybe it was just forum discussion or something.