Ice climber hospitalized after falling 40 feet near Bridal Veil Falls
Dec 26, 2022, 1:35 PM | Updated: Feb 14, 2023, 4:11 pm
PROVO, Utah — A 29-year-old man was rescued and taken to the hospital Monday after falling approximately 40 feet while ice climbing near Bridal Veil Falls, according to Sgt. Spencer Cannon with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
The agency was notified of the incident just after 11 a.m.
Corey Cluff with Utah County Sheriff Search and Rescue said the fall occurred on a climb called The Finger of Fate.
“An accomplished lead climber was just about to the top of the pitch where he was at, and he had a foot give way on him and he fell, landed on a ledge, and then was caught by his ropes system,” he said.
Utah County Sheriff Search and Rescue and the Provo Fire Department responded to the scene.
When they arrived, they found the man in obvious pain.
“Definite arm injuries, some back issues, some head injuries, things like that,” Cluff said.
They had to extract him fast.
“We had some sizable pieces of rock and ice come down, and they’re coming down from a couple hundred feet above,” Cluff said.
The goal was to get the man to a ledge that could be reached from the air.
“We could get one of the rescue specialists from DPS to drop down on a hoist operation, and then were able to package him up and lift him up from there,” Cluff said.
At approximately 1:45 p.m., the man was hoisted out by the helicopter and brought down to the base of Bridal Veil Falls.
“Because of where they were, if we’d have had to carry him out, it would have taken us several hours at least,” Cannon said.
He was then transported in an ambulance to Utah Valley Hospital.
“Unfortunately, accidents do happen just like any other extreme sport,” Cluff said.
No cause for the fall has been released.
At 11:09 AM @UCSO a 29 year old man fell 40’ while ice climbing near Bridal Veil Falls. He sustained a broken arm and back injury. @UCSO_SAR, with @provofire and @UtahDPS Helicopter got him down and an ambulance took him to Utah Valley Hospital. pic.twitter.com/llp5CiqODo
— Spencer Cannon (@SGTCannonPIO) December 26, 2022
