Ignoring warnings that he “will probably die,” a bicyclist tried in vain to cross a stretch of Highway 1 in Big Sur that was buried under a landslide — and promptly plummeted down the sheer rock and dirt face, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Cody Mortensen, 28 of Lucerne Valley, suffered several injuries but survived, CHP spokesperson Saul Perez said in a news release.
That picturesque section of Highway 1 is notorious for frequent rock slides and land movement, which have caused multiple closures since January 2023. Several sections have reopened after careful repairs, but one of the largest slides, known as Regent’s Slide, continues to overwhelm the two-lane roadway, blocking all traffic through the area.
Friday morning, Mortensen blew past road closure signs before encountering a construction worker, Perez said. The crew member explained that the road was closed due to a rock slide.
The worker told Mortensen that “the road is not passable, and if he attempted to cross he will probably die,” according to Perez. “Mortensen said he was going to try anyways.”
About an hour later, a state park ranger visiting the landslide area spotted a backpack and bloody arm about 100 feet below the slide, and requested a search and rescue team.
The rescue crews found Mortensen on the beach, where he’d been able to climb down to from the steep incline, officials said. First responders treated him for a cut on his arm and possible head trauma before he was airlifted to a hospital.
Mortensen will face traffic citations for failing to obey traffic signs and failing to obey a person directing traffic, Perez said.
“He also endangered the lives of rescue personnel who had to traverse an active slide,” Perez said. “Road closures are put in place for the safety of the public as well as for the crews working.”
Repairs on Regent’s Slide are scheduled to be completed in late fall, according to Kevin Drabinski, a California Department of Transportation spokesperson, and the road will be closed until then.
In March, the slide sent an estimated 300,000 cubic yards of dirt, rock and other debris over the roadway during some of the season’s intense atmospheric river storms.
“The repair at Regent’s Slide is challenging in part because the slide begins some 450 [feet] above the roadway and because of the steepness of the slope,” Drabinski said. It also “involves a top-down removal of slide material.”
“Crews are continuously monitoring and adjusting their approach based on site conditions,” he said. “The slide material that falls naturally or is pushed from above not only covers the roadway, but continues down to the beach and ocean below.”
When Regent’s Slide is repaired, Highway 1 will be cleared for an uninterrupted seaside trip between Cambria and Carmel — something that hasn’t been possible since January 2023.