Date: July 7, 2009
Contact: Shannan Marcak, 928-638-7958
Grand Canyon, Ariz. – A resident of Grand Canyon National Park was rescued via short-haul this morning after suffering a fall during a recreational climb of Newton Butte.
On Monday, July 6, at approximately 8:00 p.m., Grand Canyon National Park rangers received notification that a man had been injured in a fall at Newton Butte located approximately 1.5 miles north of Shoshone Point. Due to quickly diminishing light conditions and the treacherous nature of the route to the patient’s location, a decision was made to send in a ranger/paramedic to stabilize the patient and make him as comfortable as possible until a full-scale rescue could be launched in the morning.
Upon arriving at the scene, the ranger/paramedic found a 33-year old male who had fallen approximately 50 feet and sustained non-life-threatening injuries to both legs.
This morning at approximately 7:00 a.m., supplies were flown in by the park’s helicopter so that the ranger/paramedic could prepare the patient for transport. The patient and ranger were then flown to the canyon rim together using a short-haul technique (both the ranger and the patient were attached to a fixed line extended below the helicopter.) From there, the injured man was transported via park ambulance to meet a Guardian Medical Transport ambulance for final transport to Flagstaff Medical Center.
The National Park Service would like to commend the efforts of the injured man’s climbing partner who made his friend as comfortable as possible, supplying him with as much gear as he could spare before hiking out to get assistance. He then led the ranger/paramedic back to the man’s location in the dark along a treacherous route.
Park helitack and trail crew members as well as park ranger staff participated in this rescue operation.
-NPS-
