Colo. Responders Rescue Man After 120-Foot Cliff Fall

March 20, 2014
A college-aged man suffered serious bodily injuries after he fell as much as 120 feet while climbing rocks in Eldorado Canyon State Park.

March 20--A college-aged man was airlifted out of Eldorado Canyon State Park on Wednesday night after falling between 80 and 120 feet from a rock formation he was climbing, Boulder County officials say.

Rescue crews responded at about 7:40 p.m. to reports of an injured male climber, according to Sgt. Dave Booton of the Sheriff's Office.

When they arrived, they found a man lying on the ground near the Wind Tower rock formation, Booton said.

It remains unclear what caused the man, who was wearing technical climbing gear, to fall from the formation, or why his gear did not prevent him from falling all the way to the ground, but Booton said investigators estimate he fell between 80 and 120 feet, suffering serious bodily injuries on impact.

Members of the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group helped transport the man to a nearby fire station where a helicopter picked him up and took him to the trauma center at St. Anthony Hospital in Denver.

His name and condition were not immediately available, Booton said.

Copyright 2014 - Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.

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