Climber slides 30 feet down mountainside and hits head in Colorado, rescuers say
A climber hurt his head during a fall at a popular climbing location in Colorado, rescuers said.
The 39-year-old lead climber lost his footing and fell down near the 39-mile marker near “The Dome” in Boulder Canyon on Sunday, Nov. 19, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
As he fell, some of his protective gear was pulled out of the wall, and he slid down about 30 feet before his climbing partner was able to stop his fall, officials said.
The climber injured his head in the fall and was not able to walk out to the trailhead, officials said.
Rescuers quickly started giving the injured climber medical care when they located the climbers, officials said. Then rescuers stabilized the climber and “packaged him into a full body vacuum splint and litter” to evacuate him down the technical terrain to the Boulder Creek Path, officials said.
Once they reached the road, rescuers loaded him into an ambulance to go to a local hospital, officials said. Information about the climber’s condition was not provided.
The Dome is a popular spot because of the variety of pitches to climb, according to the Colorado Mountain School, a nonprofit that partners with national forests in the state.
This story was originally published November 20, 2023 at 4:02 PM with the headline "Climber slides 30 feet down mountainside and hits head in Colorado, rescuers say."
