Why wasn't Life Flight called instead of Air Med? Life Flight has a hoist! That man could have been in the hospital hours earlier instead of spending hours being carried down a mountain on a stretcher.

Whether it is Life Flight or Air Med: Thanks. Utah should be proud of the kind of professional rescuing we have. Think of the mountains and the weather we get...they do a damn good job.

When the hospital in Murray is finished we will be even more top-notch.

Utah has some really great people working in this rescue profession.

(The above was a truly unbiased and unsolicited opinion. Really.)

Utah County Search & Rescue teams did an absolutely fabulous job rescuing this young man. They worked in a professional & organized manor with many other volunteers in extremely treacherous conditions during the dead of night, risking their own lives to save another.

Although these teams are volunteers, they are professionals in their field & offer an invaluable service to our community all while paying for this our of their own pockets. They are trained to do what is best for both victim & rescuers & would not take unnecessary risks.

I know. My husband is one of these rescuers & I watched a good part of the rescue.

It is easy to arm chair quarterback. Please refrain from criticizing the rescue unless you have all the facts.

We need to give thanks to these volunteers for their countless hours of service to our community & most importantly wish the young man a speedy recovery!

It is easy to cast blame and arm-chair quarterback. My son was the lead climber for the group. The three young men are all close friends and roommates in Provo. They have climbed this route a number of times, but they believe that this was an accident that could have been prevented.

We went back up this morning at dawn to rescue his dog that was left behind on the cliff and to collect the climbing gear. It is an extremely rugged area with no established trails. I'm amazed at the courage and effort put forth by Utah County Search and Rescue. They took the time to do everything safely and by the book. It was daunting to visualize what they accomplished in the dark of night in a very tight canyon with icy water cascading down.

I personally want to thank these volunteers and the medical personnel that assisted with Jon's rescue. We saw Jon briefly at the University of Utah late this morning. His injuries are serious, but due to the quality of care he will heal.

Were these people trad climbing or was this a bolted sport route? Was gear failure an issue or was it human error? Just wondering if anyone knows any details so we can learn from this experience.

I am glad we have firefighters, policemen, and Search and Rescue teams!! Accidents happen and it's good to know these people are there!!

Regardless of who flys the patient, AirMed will always do what is in the patient's best interest. AirMed considered calling LifeFlight for the hoist, but as already mentioned, the canyon was too narrow and hoist operations stop after dark especially in that terrain. Strong work to Utah County Search and Rescue for a job well done. Also, the two UCS&R EMT Intermediates excellant job. You are a credit to your organization.

It sounds like there is a ton of speculation about what really happened. Does anyone really know the details? Were they really using gear and rock climbing? Three of my friends and I hiked Bridal Veil last weekend and made it up to the abandoned restraunt without to many difficulties. Granted we weren't rock climbing with gear; We were using what was up there and had a blast. We actually would love to take some of our other friends up soon. And how bout that dog...how the heck did the dog make it up there? Was Air med used to rescue him? Hopefully we won't need to use Air Med especially if they are going to charge us for the rescue.

Jared, did you read the post from Edward - the father of the lead climber. I'm sure he has a pretty credible description.

Edward do you know if the second unclipped to allow more climbers up, in a hurry. Just curious as to why he didn't climb all the way up to the belayer before unclipping?

I have made mistakes myself and know how easy it is to become complacent. Just a reminder that you gotta take it serious and not let your guard down at any time. Thanks for all the information it will help me pay more attention to detail in the future!