Injured Climber Requires Technical Rescue From Clear Creek Canyon
CLEAR CREEK CANYON, Colo. (CBS4) -- Rescuers used a drone to track their best access up and down a steep canyon wall to rescue a climber who fell Friday afternoon.
The female climber fell about 30 feet near the east mouth of Tunnel 2 in Clear Creek Canyon in the early afternoon.
Crews created several different rope systems to get the climber down the slope to bank of Clear Creek, then traveled along it and across it to get her to an ambulance on Highway 6. The operation took all afternoon and the highway was not re-opened until almost 7 p.m.
The climber's injuries were not specified, but she was taken to a local hospital.
The drone was used to first find the climber, then give crews an idea of the terrain between her and the road. It is one of two drones in West Metro Fire's arsenal.
Technical rescue personnel from Golden Fire-Rescue and West Metro Fire compromised most of the crew on the hillside, but Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Jefferson County Open Space Rangers, AMR ambulance, Colorado State Patrol and CDOT personnel assisted along the way.
