Kananaskis Country Public Safety Section had to perform a rescue of an injured climber on April 12.
A team from the section was dispatched after receiving a call from a male climber who had fallen and injured himself on the Hidden Corner route of Mount Yamnuska.
“The group of two was up the route almost halfway, then the leader fell. He came down the corner then hit the wall and swung out to the side. Unfortunately when he swung, that left him just hanging out in space so he was literally just hanging off the rope,” explained Matt Mueller, a public safety specialist with the section that performed the rescue.
Mueller said when the climber fell, he broke his ankle as he swung across the wall and his partner was unable to reach him to help him get down. Fortunately the pair were prepared and knew what to do in that situation.
“They were an experienced pair of climbers, so they actually had a cell phone with them with our number programmed and ready to go, so they phoned direct. It was great because we were able to call and speak with the climber directly as well,” Mueller said.
Once the call came in, the section dispatched a team to retrieve the pair off of the cliff side, which proved to be a difficult task.
“Quite often with climbing rescues, we sling them with the helicopter. We get as close as we can using the helicopter, the pilots are incredibly skilled so usually we can get right to the person. But in this case, where they were, it put the helicopter itself right near the edge of the cliff where there’s lots of localized wind.”
According to Mueller, the wind made it unsafe to manoeuvre the helicopter to rescue the climber, so they went to their next plan, which was to rappel from the top of the cliff down to the climber.
“We have a set of specialized rope rescue gear and we set up a station at the top and actually lower somebody over. As they’re going down, once they reach the climber they pick them off, attach them onto the rope system, and continue on to the bottom,” Mueller explained.
Again, this method was too dangerous as the top of the cliff had too much loose rock or gravel to safely execute the rescue. So finally the team resorted to its third method: climbing from the bottom up to the climber.
“Luckily we all know that method really well because it’s the classic way to rescue someone.”
Mueller said the climber was about 80 metres up the cliff when they met him since he lowered himself as they climbed up to reach him. They’re uncertain why the climber fell in the first place but think it may have something to do with the amount of loose rock on the cliff currently.
Rescues like this are nothing new for Mueller and the Kananaskis Country Public Safety Section.
“I can’t really tell you the number of rescues I’ve done, there’s been quite a few. Last year we averaged about 300 calls and of those we’ve had maybe 10 to 15 technical calls that would rival the rescue we performed on April 12,” Mueller said.
Fortunately, their most recent rescue was a success thanks to the climbers’ preparedness. Mueller wants to stress that anyone wishing to climb or hike in the area take the proper steps to plan ahead.
“We suggest that people be aware of where they go on the cliffs and make sure to test their holds … the first thing I’d suggest is seek some sort of instruction so they actually know the technical specifics of the climbing. And start on the smaller cliffs and build experience.”
Those interested in becoming certified climbers can visit the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides’ website, www.acmg.ca. There also a number of guides in the Kananaskis area that can accompany new climbers on their routes.
