Rock climber falls 100 feet at state park in Colorado

According to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, a 37-year-old male climber took a 100-foot fall while climbing on Eldorado Canyon State Park's 'Red Garden Wall.'

The report of the incident was received at about 1:10 PM on Monday, July 25.

Once crews from Rocky Mountain Rescue Group (RMRG) and Mountain View Fire Protection District had arrived at the scene, RMRG members rappelled to the fallen climber's position from above.

The climber was located on the 'upper ramp' that lies between two three-pitch sections of the route. After he was lowered to the 'lower ramp' at the base of the route, a scree evacuation was used to get the climber back to the trail.

An ambulance was waiting for the climber at the trailhead and was able to transport him to a local medical facility.

No details about what may have caused the fall were released. Nor were details regarding the extent of the climber's injuries.

The specific route the climber was on at the time of the incident was upper Ruper Route. This is a 5.8-plus rated route, which is intermediate, but it's also a trad-style multi-pitch route, requiring quite a bit more technical skill than standard sport climbing as climbers place their own protection as they ascend opposed to attaching to pre-fixed bolts. In total, there are six pitches on the Ruper Route, with the route split into a lower and upper half of three pitches each. The climber's fall to the 'upper ramp' feature left him stuck in the middle of the full route.

In total, the rescue took about seven-and-a-half hours.

Thanks goes out to responding teams. Those interested in supporting Colorado's volunteer-driven search and rescue effort might consider purchasing a CORSAR card.

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