On Friday afternoon a 36-year-old climber from Golden, Colorado, fell approximately 40 feet on Sundance Buttress, a popular climbing feature in the Lumpy Ridge area on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park. At the time of the fall he was approximately 350 feet up the route. The climber suffered numerous injuries.
Park rangers were assisted in this rescue by an individual working as a guide for the Colorado Mountain School. The guide, who was with a separate party at the time, witnessed the fall. He came to the man's aid and was able to lower him to the base of the route. Park rangers utilized the Grand Canyon Helitak Crew from the Big Meadows Fire operation, to conduct a short-haul rescue of the man. A short-haul rescue is a specialized rescue technique in which a 150 foot rope is attached to the bottom of a helicopter. The end of the rope is attached to a rescuer. It allows rescuers to be inserted into difficult terrain quickly.
The patient was placed in a "Bauman Bag" with an attendant on the end of the rope. They were both flown to a nearby meadow. The man was then taken by ambulance to Estes Park Medical Center.
Rocky Mountain National Park rangers expressed appreciation for the support from the Rocky Mountain Area Incident Management Team A in providing the helicopter and crew for this rescue operation, as well as the guide who lowered the man 350 feet, greatly assisting park rangers in this technical rescue.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
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