Rescue in Eldo 7/25/22

https://bouldercounty.gov/news/37-year-old-male-climber-rescued-after-falling-100-foot-in-eldorado-canyon-state-park/

37-year-old male climber rescued after falling 100 feet in Eldorado Canyon State Park.

Boulder County, Colo. - On Monday July 25, 2022, at approximately 1:10 PM., the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding a climber from Arizona that had fallen 100 feet while climbing, the upper Ruper route on the Red Garden Wall in Eldorado Canyon State Park, Boulder County Colorado.

Rocky Mountain Rescue Group (RMRG) and Mountain View Fire Protection District responded to the call.  RMRG rappelled from above down to the injured climber who was on the upper ramp.  They then lowered the climber down to the lower ramp, with a scree evacuation down to the trail.  From there the injured climber was brought out to a waiting ambulance.  He was then transported to a Boulder Community Hospital by Mountain View Fire Protection District Ambulance.

The rescue took seven and half hours.

The associated Boulder County Sheriff's Office case number is 22-3562                              ###                                          

/s/ Emergency Services Coordinator – Neal McQuarie

Anyone know if the climber is okay?

I'm disappointed no details have come in on this accident.  They say the climber fell 100'.  I'm thinking he was lowered 100'.  Ruper has good pro so I doubt it was a 100' whipper.  Hats off to RMR.  I wonder what anchor was used to lower the dude from the upper to lower meadows.  It's not exactly anchor friendly on the upper meadows.  

salisbur1 Salisbury wrote:

I'm disappointed no details have come in on this accident.  ... 

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105748774/ruper#Comment-122802775

salisbur1 Salisbury wrote:

I'm disappointed no details have come in on this accident.  They say the climber fell 100'.  I'm thinking he was lowered 100'.  Ruper has good pro so I doubt it was a 100' whipper.  Hats off to RMR.  I wonder what anchor was used to lower the dude from the upper to lower meadows.  It's not exactly anchor friendly on the upper meadows.  

Been a while since I was on it, but I remember the roof traverse on pitch 6 having very little pro. I remember an old fixed pin when you start the traverse, then basically nothing, then a small cam right before the traverse ends, and then a long runout on easy terrain to the anchors. I wouldn't have wanted to fall on any part of that pitch. Hope the climber is OK and recovers soon. 

I was on Anthill Direct around the corner at the time and ran into the search and rescue crew on our way out. We didn't see anything first hand, but talked to a couple of guys who saw the fall from the ground. Said they heard a yell and then saw the leader fall from just past the roof on the top pitch (post-traverse) and they were caught just above the upper ledge ~100+ft whip. They said the person hung upside down and moved a little but then the belayer lowered them to the ledge. It was unclear if the belayer then rapped to the ledge as well or if their anchor failed in some way too. Neither person was visible from the ground, but the rope was still dangling an hour later when I saw it. Couldn't see where it was hanging from, just a little bit of it was visible above the ledge. Local news said search and rescue got them down after 7+ hours and took them to the hospital, so hopefully that means they were hurt, but alive. Search and rescue was staging really quickly after the fall, so someone called it in fast.

Looking at the route description here, I see the top pitch can be runout and has some old loose pins. Not sure if they ripped pins that shouldn't have been clipped, pulled gear, or just ran it out and took a bad fall. I also see it specifically says the top pitch can be slippery after rain. It rained a lot the two prior days and Anthill felt greasy in places despite being dry, so it's possible they slipped on the easier turf up high. This is all hearsay and guesses though and I've been searching for details as well to learn from whatever mistake may have happened. Certainly hoping the climber/belayer are alright though.

cmurray wrote:

Said they heard a yell and then saw the leader fall from just past the roof on the top pitch (post-traverse) and they were caught just above the upper ledge ~100+ft whip. 

I’m confused - are you talking about the Upper Ramp? There are no ledges on upper Ruper, just a few stances.

Yes, the upper ramp. Not a local so I'm less familiar with the area. His partner has since posted on the Ruper page. Sounds like a bad fall but survived..

I guided Upper Ruper on Saturday afternoon, one day prior.  There was a loose rock at exactly the point of fall (as described above).  You angle up and left on good holds after the roof ends.  I stepped on said loose rock and had a wide-eye moment when it shifted; left it rather than endangering people below by tossing it.  Talked to my client; he remembered grabbing it with his hand; i heard him yelp from the saddle but he recovered.  

I tend to run these pitches out too; my client actually called me out for it Saturday; glad all survived; best wishes and quick recovery; I’ve lost friends to lesser falls.

BTW, from there to Upper Ramp is a solid 60 meters. The fall, if as described, was significantly longer than 100’.

Hi Climbers

I was the faller in question.  We were on the final pitch of Ruper.  I placed two pieces on the vertical crack and started traversing earlier than i should have before the roof, not realizing the rock was fractured.  The going was easy until a big hold completely busted off and away I went.  Pendulumed toward my second piece, felt like it was going to catch but it let loose and I fell until my first piece held, but by then the damage was done: rib fracture, sacrum fracture, elbow fracture, dislocated and broken left heel.  I was still dangling 100 ft off the deck bleeding profusely and starting to panic when my partner was able to free the rope and lower me.  A couple of climbers who had been watching called 911 and moved me to a shaded spot on a large treed ledge.  Waited approximately 2 hours from that point until RMRG arrived.  Simul-lowered until we could reach the waiting stretcher.  Carried to the waiting ambulance and off to the hospital.

First of all, huge THANK YOU to the RMRG.  Those guys and girls were such pros, helping me mentally and doing an AMAZING job getting me to safety.  It was not easy at all.

Second, thanks to my partner and the two climbers who helped me before RMRG arrived.

Third, thanks to the helmet i bought the day before the accident to replace the wonky helmet I had before.  My new helmet had a fresh near-puncture that let me know i'd be dead without it.

Just a little background and takeaway.  This was the final pitch of our final day of a six day climbing trip to Colorado from Arizona.  Given that many of the climbs/pitches we'd done previously were harder, I was too relaxed and didn't take the precautions I should have.  I'm an experienced climber, having climbed for 20+ years and NEVER been hurt.  I lost my concentration and it cost me.  Don't loose yours!

I hope this info helps someone stay safe.

--Aaron M.

Thanks for sharing Aaron.  Really sorry this happened.  Best of luck with your recovery.

Holy crap man I'm glad your alive .That fall sounds insane.

Yeah, sounds pretty rough, but glad it wasn't worse! Thanks for sharing. Guess you can frame the piece that held if you get it back.

Hoping you make a full recovery.