A hiker became stuck in a precarious spot atop a “hoodoo with a sharp, catastrophic fall on all sides” in Utah, rescuers said.
The man in his 60s injured his ankle and jumped over a five-foot gap on the rock spire — then was unable to get over the gap, Grand County EMS and sheriff’s search and rescue officials said in a release from May 10 on Facebook.
Rescuers shared a dramatic photo showing the hiker stranded on the mushroom-shaped spire at Pucker Pass in Long Canyon on Saturday, May 4, around 3 p.m. Another photo shows a rescuer wearing a helmet and strapped into a harness as she carefully crawls over a ladder. tied to both sides of the ground with ropes to get medical equipment to the hiker.
The rescuer treated the hiker’s injured ankle and he was able to crawl back over the ladder to safety, officials said. The rescue took about three hours.
“Thank you to (Grand County Search And Rescue) for their leadership, technical skills and unparalleled creativity in gaining access to the patient,” officials said in the post. “As we head into another beautiful weekend here in Moab, just remember: just because you saw a picture of it online doesn’t always mean it’s the best idea.”
The post caught the attention of a social media account known as @TouronsofYellowstone on Instagram, which highlights bad behavior in national parks.
“How (terrible) and sad,” one person wrote in the comments of the May 11 post on Instagram. “I can’t go to that park. People do the scariest things!!!! With every step, people practically fell off the walkway while taking selfies. Their feet hang over 2,000 foot drops. I was sick. Just shocked.”
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