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ALTA — One person was airlifted to the hospital Friday after a climbing accident on the Hellgate Cliffs near Alta.
The two climbers were scaling the Monkey Paw route when a hold pulled off the wall and the lead climber fell 8 to 10 feet, according to the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Search and Rescue team.
The belayer at the base of the route was able to catch the fall, but in so doing was propelled "up and into the rock," the team said on Facebook.
The accident caused an open lower arm fracture, lacerations to both arms and legs, head injury and possibly a brief loss of consciousness. Despite this, the belayer was still able to lower the lead climber, who suffered only minor scrapes and bruises.
The climbers "immediately" called 911 due to the severity of the belayer's injuries, the post says. Officials from the Unified Fire Authority, Salt Lake County search and rescue, and Lifeflight responded to the scene, moving the injured climber 100 feet down before he was hoisted into the chopper and transported to a hospital.
Rescue: #34. Injured climber/Little Cottonwood Canyon Callout Time: 10:23AM 08/07/2020 Duration: 1 hour 20 Minutes...
Posted by Salt Lake County Sheriff's Search and Rescue on Friday, August 7, 2020
