MONTROSE, Colo. — A climber was seriously injured after a fall in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on Monday morning.
On Monday around 10:30 a.m., a person in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park called 911 to report a fall in the park. A rock climber had been on the Great White Wall climbing route on the North Rim of Black Canyon when the 911 caller saw them fall, according to a park spokesperson.
The Black Canyon Search and Rescue (SAR) team and Western Colorado University SAR team both responded to the park.
The teams hiked down the Long Draw route, which dropped about 1,800 feet into the canyon, before rock climbing 300 feet up to the fallen climber, who was unconscious and had major trauma injuries. The SAR teams lowered the person to the canyon floor, where they were loaded into a Colorado Army National Guard helicopter at 7:25 p.m., flown out of the canyon, transferred to a medical air ambulance in Montrose and then flown to Saint Mary’s hospital in Grand Junction.
A spokesperson for the park said climbing in the national park requires serious training, preparation and experience. The park has little to no cell service.
