Injured climber rescued from Black Canyon

MONTROSE — A climber who fell and sustained injuries in the Black Canyon on Thursday evening was rescued Friday at about 1:50 p.m.

“He was ambulatory,” said Paul Zaenger, supervisory ranger at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

“It appears that there were not any life threatening injuries.”

The unidentified man, 21, is from Colorado Springs. He was taken to Delta County Memorial Hospital, Zaenger said.

The extent of his injuries was not immediately known, but initial reports indicated lacerations, contusions and a possible head injury.

The victim was with two other climbers when he fell an estimated 50 feet Thursday on the Comic Relief Route at around 5:30 p.m. Zaenger said in a news release one of the man’s climbing partners remained with the victim while the other rappelled to the bottom of the canyon and hiked up SOB Draw to obtain help.

Park rangers and volunteer climbers descended into the canyon at daybreak Friday. They found the injured climber and his remaining climbing partner on a detached pillar more than 800 feet below the canyon rim, according to the news release.

The Comic Relief Route is on the west face of North Chasm View Wall, on the Black Canyon’s north rim.

“It’s a complicated climb. What makes it more complicated is that it’s an all-day excursion,” Zaenger said. “Approaches are going to be time consuming as well, so it’s a very challenging climb.”

He said the Black Canyon has a couple dozen climbers each weekend this time of year when the weather is reasonably good.