This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake County Search and Rescue workers retrieved two injured climbers late Thursday night from a cliff side near Storm Mountain in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Unified Police Capt. Kris Ownby said Friday that the two men were rappelling down the Challenge Buttress, just across from Storm Mountain, about 8 p.m. in tandem, alternating as counterbalancing weights to each other. One of them fell off the end of the rope, and both fell as a result.
A 25-year-old climber tumbled about 10 feet, while the second climber, a 31-year-old man, dropped 40 feet.
Ownby said the 25-year-old suffered a lower leg laceration and possibly sprained ankle, but his companion sustained more severe injuries to his legs and upper body.
About 20 rescuers, including four paramedics, responded to the scene. The 25-year-old climber was aided in completing his ascent by 9:30 p.m. and drove himself to a hospital to be checked out. The other climber was lowered by rescuers shortly thereafter and taken to University Hospital in serious but non-life threatening condition.