BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — A climber survived an 80- to 100-foot fall from the Second Flatiron in Boulder County on Tuesday afternoon.
Around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Boulder County Communications Center received a call about a 48-year-old climber who had been scrambling on the Second Flatiron when he fell and was seriously injured, the Boulder County Sheriff's office said. He was not using a rope.
He fell about 80 to 100 feet, hitting several rocks on the way down. When he landed on a ledge, he had injuries "across his entire body," the sheriff's office said. Two climbers who were also in the area rushed to his aid, called 911, and helped direct emergency personnel to the man.
While the injured climber could not move, he could answer questions, the sheriff's office said.
Rocky Mountain Rescue Group rescuers and rangers with the City of Boulder Open Space Mountain Parks provided medical assistance on the ledge, put him into a full-body vacuum splint and loaded him into a litter so he could be evacuated. The rescue personnel lowered him down the rest of the Second Flatiron, which was about 200 feet, and then the man was evacuated out via wheeled litter to a waiting ambulance.
No other details were available on this incident.
Several groups were involved in the rescue, including the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, Boulder Fire-Rescue, City of Boulder Open Space Mountain Parks, American Medical Response, and Rocky Mountain Rescue Group.
