Red Rock Climber Rescue Takes 7 Hours

The injured climber fell an estimated 40 to 50 feet while on the "Dream Safari" route, sustaining severe head and back injuries. The climber was on the second pitch of the route, approximately 600 feet above the ground, when the fall occurred. A climbing guide from another party, along with the victim's own partner, were able to reach the injured climber and control bleeding while awaiting the arrival of search and rescue crews. The climber's helmet was destroyed in the fall but is credited with likely saving their life. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Search and Rescue team inserted four officers and a volunteer by helicopter to a position several hundred feet above the injured climber. Rescuers then rappelled down to provide medical treatment before securing the climber in a titanium litter. To get the climber to the ground, rescue personnel constructed a technical lowering system, utilizing three separate stations to bring the litter down several hundred feet. The entire operation, from the initial insertion of the rescue team to their final extraction, took about seven hours. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area sees over 3 million visitors annually. Between 2021 and 2023, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's Search and Rescue Unit assisted 181 people within the canyon's nearly 200,000 acres. While rescues have recently been declining, over 30% of all incidents in Red Rock occur in three main areas known for advanced rock climbing: Juniper Canyon, Kraft Mountain, and Black Velvet Canyon. These areas attract both highly skilled and novice climbers, with some underestimating the difficulty of the routes.