ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. (KDVR) — The Ferguson family, a father and two sons, climbed Longs Peak Saturday in the same area rescue crews had to recover the body of a climber who died.

The family said they were met with blizzard-like conditions on the peak and made the decision to turn back.

“The wind and the snow just picked up immensely,” Adlai Ferguson said.

Adlai joined his father, Case, and his younger brother on a climb through the Keyhole Route and estimated they were about an hour ahead of a climber who died on the mountain.

Case said he could tell his younger son was feeling the worsening cold on the peak.

“Just looking at him, I could tell it was time to make the call to turn around, so I did. At that point, I realized it was time for us to call it quits,” Case said.

Their route, they said, was already showing signs of danger.

“Snow had already been there and ice was on the rocks, so you knew the further up you were going the more dangerous the conditions are,” Case said.

“Getting back down the mountain we felt really defeated,” Adlai said. “But I think after hearing about the death, as tragic as it is, was a bit of a realization that we did make the right call there.”

As their father, it wasn’t an easy decision to cut their climb short, but Case said he had his boy’s lives in mind.

“There’s always another chance to climb the mountain again and you just got to evaluate risk,” Case said.