BELLEVUE, Idaho — An injured paraglider in Blaine County required a "complex, multi-hour technical rope rescue" on Tuesday evening and into Wednesday morning, reports the BC South Fire Protection District.
The rescue involved a multi-agency response that included the Ketchum Fire Department (KFD), Sun Valley Fire Department (SVFD), and the BC South Fire Protection District (BCSFPD).
A BCSFPD report states that the paraglider crashed into the side of Lookout Mountain at approximately 5:35 p.m after their wing collapsed due to tangled lines.
A friend then hiked to the injured paraglider's location and called 911 at 9:25 p.m.
BCSFPD responded to the incident with 19 firefighters. Of those personnel, 15 were tasked with hiking up the mountain to the scene of the crash, located at an elevation of roughly 6,000 feet above sea level.
Three individuals, including a paramedic, reached the paraglider at 10:45 p.m. There, they discovered that the paraglider had suffered multiple traumatic injuries. The team then stabilized the victim while "packaging him in a bean bag litter and initiating hypothermia prevention measures."
The rest of the responding rescue personnel arrived later with "Stokes litter, ropes, clutches, harnesses, and two picket anchor packs (70-pound packs each containing three pickets and a sledgehammer)."
At midnight, the rescue personnel were able to complete three sequential rope lowers across a distance of 900 vertical feet, all the while providing medical care to the victim.
A LifeFlight helicopter attempted to extract the victim, but challenging terrain forced the aircraft to stage on the valley floor. They ultimately received the victim at 1:53 a.m.
The paraglider was then transported to the Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, arriving at 2:14 a.m.
“This was a long-duration, personnel-intensive operation, but it went remarkably efficiently thanks to the skill, fitness, and recent training of everyone involved,” said Bass Sears, BCSFPD Operations Chief. “Our ropes class and refresher had just wrapped up the week before, so crews were sharp, using consistent tactics and equipment. The coordination between hasty and rescue teams, combined with strong mutual aid support, made the difference.”
