A man who was climbing Higher Cathedral Spire at Yosemite National Park on Sunday fell 30 feet, sustaining major injuries.
The 26-year old climber, who hasn’t been identified, survived the fall but had to be taken out of the park by helicopter after landing on a rock bench. His position–with three other climbers–made it difficult for rescuers to bring the aircraft in for a rescue, and he was unable to walk after suffering severe trauma.
“He had a pretty decent ledge that he landed on, but there was a lot of vertical rock around him, which made it incredibly difficulty to fly in,” said CHP officer and paramedic Andrea Brown. “He had a significant back trauma and was unable to walk.”
The victim is the second person to leave the park by helicopter in a week; on Tuesday, a woman who was hiking suffered severe back injuries and had to be flown to a nearby hospital.
In March, a Texas man took a plunge at the Grand Canyon and fell 350 feet to his death; 53-year old John N. Anderson may have been trying to retrieve a hat that had fallen over the side of a protective barrier. He was with his family at the time, but no one saw him fall.
“You always want to rule out foul play,” Grand Canyon Chief Ranger Bill Wright said. “You want to rule out whether somebody did this to him or he did it to himself. We believe based on reports and the circumstances that it was accidental.”
Yosemite rock climber rescued by helicopter after 30-foot fall http://t.co/7dyk949Ajb
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Image via Wikimedia Commons
