A Calgary woman was heli-slung out of Grotto Canyon after a large chunk of ice fell on her from the Crystal Tear ice climbing route on Saturday (Feb. 22).
The woman was belaying at the bottom of the route when the lead climber accidentally knocked a large chunk of ice off the last pitch, which struck the 25-year-old woman.
“She was having difficulty breathing. The party assessed her and decided there was no way they could self-evacuate,” said Kananaskis Public Safety Officer Jeremy Mackenzie.
Remarkably, the climbers picked up a cellphone signal and were able to call 911. Mackenzie was heli-slung into the narrow canyon by Alpine Helicopters and assessed the situation.
“The ice struck her on the clavicle and shoulder,” Mackenzie said. “She had serious bruising on the left side of her back and had difficulty breathing.”
Another public safety officer was also slung into the canyon and packaged the woman up before flying her out.
The helicopter pilot had to be careful, as the canyon was quite narrow.
“We were getting closer to the cliff face. The surrounding cliffs were quite snowy,” Mackenzie said.
The belayer was standing an appropriate distance from the wall, but Mackenzie said these accidents do happen.
“Falling ice is common. It’s hard to say putting her in a different spot would have made a difference,” he said.
