'Oh my gosh, that's a person. That is a body:' Colorado man urges hikers to be prepared after finding body on Longs Peak

A Colorado man who discovered the body of a missing hiker on Longs Peak Saturday says he wants others to know how hard search-and-rescue crews worked to bring the person home and hopes others are reminded that you can never be too prepared when it comes to climbing Colorado's 14ers.

"It's just heavy. I feel for the family and friends and the other people in our climbing community that are spooked by this," said Glenn Carlson.

Carlson, a Colorado native, had been preparing to climb the Keyhole route on Longs Peak with his friends for more than a month.

The Keyhole is about a mile from the summit of Longs Peak, and while it's one of the more heavily trafficked routes, it's anything but easy.

"Once you kind of pop through the Keyhole, the wind just smacks you in the face and it was blowing snow. Pretty nasty, the rock was fairly iced up," said Carlson.

Although Carlson and his three friends started their trek at 3:30 a.m. to avoid the bad weather, it still found them. The group waited for nearly 45 minutes until things were manageable. Or so they thought. They made it through the Keyhole only to find an unexpected and grim reality check.

"We kind of looked up and I think one of us said, 'Is that a boot?', and then another person said, 'I think that's a pack,'" Carlson said. "Then it kind of hit us... oh my gosh, that's a person. That is a body."

Carlson said they began to frantically shout at the man, hoping for a response, but none came.

Cell service was limited. He said calls to search-and-rescue would ring but failed to connect. He had a GPS device, a Garmin InReach, but admitted he was hesitant to press the 'SOS' button.

Fortunately, help was already on the way. Search-and-rescue crews with the National Park Service were approaching from the ground and Carlson said he spotted a crew in a helicopter searching for a place to land.

"We were flagging the helicopter, jumping up and down throwing our hands in the air and our trekking poles," said Carlson, "Forget the summit -- who even cares about that at this point, let's make sure that we can get this person off the mountain and back home to their family."

He said he was astounded by the effort rescuers put into the recovery mission, especially considering the conditions.

"That's a whole (other) level honestly, so they're just... they're incredible people. I'd definitely recommend donating to local search-and-rescue groups," Carlson said.

He asked rescuers about the SOS button and whether he should've used it.

"They said don't even hesitate, if there's an emergency on the mountain, use that button," said Carlson.

For now, Carlson is still trying to process what happened.

"These things can happen and you don't expect them to happen to you, and you certainly don't expect to ever see this happen," he said. "The mountain is in control, not you."

UPDATE: Body found on Longs Peak identified as Russell Jacobs