On Sunday April 27th, 2008 at approximately 1:06 p.m., Boulder County Communications Center received a 9-1-1 call regarding a fallen climber in Eldorado State Park, 9 Kneale Road in Boulder County. The initial report was a climber who had fallen about 30 feet and had possibly suffered a broken leg. The climber was reportedly still on the rock wall and would need a technical evacuation. Initial rescue crews from Rocky Mountain Fire Authority (RMFA), Rocky Mountain Rescue (RMR), and Boulder County Sheriff’s Office responded.
On scene rescue personnel from RMFA and RMR entered the field. They located the fallen climber on a ledge below the yellow spur-climbing trail of the Red Garden Wall. Witnesses and the climber described the following events. The climber identified as Chris Lee was climbing the dude griffith climb off of the Red Garden Wall. His climbing partner identified as Chris Klinga was on-belay below Lee, as he was leading the climb. Lee reached up to continue climbing when a large piece of the rock wall broke loose into his hands. The rock was approximately 3 feet by 3 feet and Lee fell grasping the rock between his hands. The rock hit Lee in the abdomen area and then continued to fall. Lee’s climbing partner Klinga was able to stop Lee from falling by using the rope and brake system they had set up. After Klinga stopped Lee from the fall he was struck with the rock that had broken loose from the wall. The rock hit Klinga and he sustained injuries to both his legs.
The climber, Lee, was able to lower himself down to Klinga and then hike out of the climbing area. Lee was assisted by rescue personnel and transported to Boulder Community Hospital for medical care.
Rocky Mountain Fire and Rocky Mountain Rescue climbed to Klinga’s location and set up an evacuation system. The team evacuated Klinga off of the rock ledge and down to the road. The evacuation included a 150-foot vertical evacuation, and a 300-foot scree evacuation. Klinga was transported to St. Anthony’s Central by a medical helicopter.
Agencies that assisted with the evacuation include, Rocky Mountain Fire Authority, Rocky Mountain Rescue, Aspen Rescue, Vail Rescue, Boulder Emergency Squad and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. Aspen and Vail Rescue had been participating in training at Caribou Ranch with RMR when the call for the fallen climber occurred. The team members assisted in the field with the evacuation.
Chris Lee, a 38-year-old male, and Chris Klinga, a 25-year-old male, are both from the Boulder area. Both climbers had proper equipment including helmets and where experienced climbers.
Many climbers witnessed the rock coming loose and the fall. The climbing community and rescue community worked together to assist Lee and Klinga with getting help. As the weather warms it is an important reminder to people going into the outdoors to have proper equipment, maps, climbing helmets, charged cell phones and to notify friends of where they are going and when to expect them home.
