KANANASKIS COUNTRY – A seriously injured climber was rescued from Mount Yamnuska and airlifted by STARS air ambulance following a fall while rock climbing on Sunday (Sept. 22).
Kananaskis Mountain Rescue and Alpine Helicopters rescued the man, who STARS said is in his twenties, from the popular climbing area in Bow Valley Wildland Park before transferring the climber to ground EMS which had been dispatched around 4:30 p.m.
“The patient was extracted from a remote area by Alpine Helicopters and transferred to ground EMS, who subsequently rendezvoused with STAR-1 near the Stoney Nakoda Casino,” said Blake Robert, a media relations spokesperson for STARS, in an email.
STAR-1 (Calgary) has been dispatched for a scene call emergency in the Exshaw, AB area
— STARS (@STARSambulance) September 23, 2024
According to a social media post from Kananaskis Mountain Rescue, two rescue specialists were lowered on low-stretch ropes from the top of the cliff to get to the climber, who was then stabilized. The patient was further lowered to the base of the cliff and heli-slung via Alpine Helicopters to EMS.
“All in all, a complex rescue that requires a high degree of technical skill as well as careful planning and execution to safely access the patient,” stated the Sept. 24 post from Kananaskis Mountain Rescue.
After Alpine transferred the patient to the awaiting EMS ambulance, they rendezvoused with STARS near the Stoney Nakoda casino around 8 p.m. to be transported to Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary.
Adam Loria, Alberta Health Services public education officer, said the climber sustained serious injuries but is in non-life-threatening condition.
