According to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, a 29-year-old climber was rescued following a 35-foot-fall and a hard landing in Eldorado Canyon State Park on August 20.

The 29-year-old climber and his climbing partner, both from Minnesota, where on a six-pitch 5.9+ trad-style climbing route called ‘The Yellow Spur‘ when the injured climber fell, popping a piece of his protection out of the wall. The falling climber was partially caught by his belayer thanks to other gear that had been placed in the wall, but still hit the ground hard.

A call for help was made and rescue units arrived to provide medical treatment, packaging the climber up and into a litter for an evacuation down the steep and loose terrain.

Ultimately, the climber had to be high-lined across South Boulder Creek in a litter. He denied medical transport, but had plans to be taken to a local medical facility by his climbing partner.

The route that the climbers were on at the time of the accident is rated in the range of intermediate, though the trad-style nature of the route makes this climb much more technical. In this style of climbing, climbers place their own protection on the rock face as they progress up the wall opposed to clipping into pre-fixed bolts.

STAY INFORMED: Sign-up for the daily OutThere Colorado newsletter here