CUSTER, S.D. – First-responders rescued a rock climber who had fallen 30 feet from a spire along the Needles Highway near Custer Saturday.
Custer county authorities say Some of their members who are climbers were not far away and responded while others brought vehicles and equipment from town. The patient was located behind a rocky incline above the highway.
Paramedics treated the rock climber at the scene before putting him in a basket litter for a steep climb down to a waiting ambulance. A helicopter crew then flew him to a hospital in Rapid City.
Authorities say the climber was speaking with medical personnel attending to him, but his condition was not released.
Authorities say the climber’s rope probably saved him from a longer fall but the report stated he’d landed on some rocks.
