Nick Chogolev died last weekend while hiking on the slopes of Manitou. His family remembers him as a loving father and husband.
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — The family of a man who died last weekend while hiking on the Manitou Slopes, one of Colorado’s most challenging hiking trails, is remembered as a loving father and husband.
Coral Jogolev said her husband, Nick Jogolev, 48, was a gentle giant who was introverted but very smart. Most importantly, he was a wonderful father to their family of seven, and he is now greatly missed by everyone.
“His children were his world,” she said. “He had the biggest smile on his face. He was happy.”
On Saturday, Nick, who turns 49 next week, took his 9-year-old son on a Boy Scout hike at Manitou Incline. The trail consists of 2,768 steep steps, with an elevation gain of 2,000 feet in less than 1 mile.
“He trained for hiking,” Chogolev said. “I know some people just go to that slope, but they’re not prepared. We’ve done it every year since we were part of a Boy Scout troop, and they’re a great troop. They use the Parker Incline and the Castle Rock Incline for their training.”
“At about the 900th step, passers-by saw him sitting with our 9-year-old child Sasha, and he looked very pale,” Djogolev said. “He was offered Gatorade, drank the Gatorade, stood up and that was it.”
Chogolev said Nick had no health problems, took no medications, and did not drink or smoke.
On the trail that day, she said, there was a combat medic and doctors and first responders hiking nearby.
“If anyone could save him, they were there,” she said. “As far as we know, there’s nothing anyone can do.”
It’s hard to understand what we would do without him, she said.
The couple has seven children at home. Two are from her previous relationships, three are together, and two nieces, over whom she has custody. Chogolev said one of their children had significant special needs, so she stayed home to care for them while Nick worked in the IT department. Their full house now feels even emptier without him.
“He was a great father,” she said. “When I say he lived for his kids, he really did.”
Now, they all have to find a way to move on without Nick.
“We still have a long way to go, and the road ahead is difficult,” Chogolev said.
For Chogolev, the loss was particularly hard on her two oldest children. She said her ex-partner, who died ten days before Nick’s death, was very close to the whole family. She said the whole family was devastated by the loss of Nick and another death soon after.
They hope the autopsy will provide some information about what happened to Nick on the slope and help with their recovery.
For more information, including how to help Chogolev’s family, they have set up online fundraiser.
