GRANITE FALLS — A 20-year-old Marysville man who became stuck about halfway down a 400-foot cliff above the Stillaguamish River was plucked from the rock face by a helicopter crew Tuesday afternoon.
The climber, whose identity wasn’t released, was reported stranded on a ledge near the Granite Falls fish ladder about 1:15 p.m., said Chief Jim Haverfield of the Granite Falls Fire District.
He’d been rappelling down the cliff when he reportedly ran out of rope midway.
It didn’t take fire department crews long to realize they would need to try to rescue him from above because he would be difficult to reach, Haverfield said.
The man wasn’t carrying a cell phone and yelled to attract the attention of people wading in South Fork Stillaguamish River below.
A search and rescue helicopter from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office was summoned.
The man, who wore red shorts and no shirt, took refuge on a ledge while rescuers plotted the best way to get him down.
As the helicopter hovered overhead, the man braced himself against the rock and rubbed his eyes as dust blew. The helicopter approached and lowered a crew member. The rescuer clipped a cable to the stranded man’s harness and he was carried to safety.
Once the helicopter was in place, the whole thing took about five minutes.
“That was textbook, right there,” Haverfield said after the man was rescued. “It just shows you their training pays off.”
The man was flown to nearby Mountain Way Elementary School in Granite Falls where he received a quick checkup by emergency medical crews. He left quickly.
Haverfield said the man was rappelling — sliding down the rock face using a harness and other climbing gear. He reached the end of his rope and wasn’t able to find a safe way back up, or down.
“He was doing it alone,” Haverfield said.
Haverfield, who grew up in the town at the foothills of the Cascade Range, said Tuesday’s rescue was by no means the first from the steep cliffs above Granite Falls.
“We do probably one every couple of years, but a high angle like this isn’t as common,” he said.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
