Climber with 'traumatic injury' rescued on Alberta mountain

Friday, April 15, 2016, 7:03 PM - A dramatic rescue operation was conducted on Alberta's Mount Yamnuska Tuesday after a climber sustained a 'traumatic injury' halfway up the Forbidden Corner climbing route.

High winds made it unsafe to conduct a helicopter rescue and rappelling from the peak of the mountain was too dangerous -- so rescuers had to resort to a 'Plan C', the CBC reports.

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Specialists from the Kananaskis Country Public Safety Section climbed up the mountain to reach the man.

The accident occurred when the climber lost his grip when he was about halfway up his climbing route.

All photos courtesy of the Kananaskis Country Public Safety Section /Facebook.

While still attached to his safety rope, he fell about 15 metres and struck the mountain, fracturing his lower right leg.

He then "realized that although his injuries were not life threatening, he had sustained a legit traumatic injury and he needed assistance to get down," the incident report states.

He called for help with his cellphone.

While he was able to rappel down part of the mountain, a rescue team helped him with the final 100 metres.

Once on the ground, the injured man was taken to a staging area at the base of the mountain via helicopter and then transferred to paramedics.

The climber involved in the incident was "highly competent", the incident report states, "but accidents do sometimes happen."

Mount Yamnuska is situated about 85 kilometres west of Calgary.

Source: CBC

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