Devils Tower |  |
The following Incident Reports were extracted from the NPS Morning Reports/Coalition Reports from 1989-2024. They are not a complete record of all incidents which occurred in this park during this timeframe. INCIDENTS | |
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Tuesday, August 26, 1986 Location: Leaning Column Summary: On Monday, August 25, 1986 at 0600 hrs, the below named subject went out for a free solo climb at Leaning Column. At 0800 hrs he was found at the base of the column. He fell & struck his head. He was transported to Spearfish South Dakota and pronounced dead on arrival. A physician & EMT were present at the scene of the accident & performed first aid. An autopsy will be performed to determine cause of death. The next of kin have been notified.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the Black Hills' Sturgis Motorcycle Classic, and between 200,000 and 500,000 motorcyclists are expected to attend the event, which runs from August 6th to the 13th. On August 6th, 11,300 motorcycles with 16,000 riders showed up at Mount Rushmore, including representatives from the Hell's Angels, Sons of Silence, Bandits, Outlaws and Pagans. About a dozen small gangs were also present. Park staff and one SET team provided traffic and crowd control. Several motorcycle accidents occurred, two of them with injuries. There were numerous drug violations, a DOT arrest, and many incidents involving riders wearing knives. A bat and a cane sword were confiscated. No serious problems occurred, however. Rangers transmitted information to the South Dakota State Command Center, where warrants for serious violations were being formulated and executed. Several other area parks have also been peripherally involved in the event: * Devil's Tower - The park had 1,500 motorcycles with 2,500 riders visit on the 6th. There were no problems. (SEAdog report from RAD/RMRO, 8/7).
On the morning of May 29th, C.S., 29, was attempting to make the fifth class approach to the Durance route unroped when he slipped and fell approximately 150 feet over a series of ledges at the base of Devils Tower. C.S. survived the fall; he was stabilized and evacuated by park staff, then medevaced by an aircraft from Ellsworth AFB to a hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota. He is listed in critical but stable condition with severe head and groin injuries, and is expected to make a full recovery. [cc:Mail message from Pat Brimmer, DETO, 6/10]
On June 10th, rangers confiscated six Golden Eagle Passes from a Czechoslovakian tour group using them for access to Western parks and monuments. The first passport was issued to the group by Badlands in May based on their statement that they were a group of friends and relatives who had rented the bus in order to tour the United States. The passport was subsequently passed on to a second group of Czechs who began their tour in June. This group bought several more Golden Eagles from Devils Tower. Interviews determined that the group was being led by a commercial tour operator, and the tour leaders indicated that they plan to bring at least three more groups to the U.S. this summer. The tour leaders, who are also Czech, frequently use the language barrier to feign misunderstanding, but in fact possess a more than adequate understanding of English. After the money they paid for the passports was refunded, they paid for 25 passengers but told investigating rangers that they probably had 43 passengers. The park believes that they will probably attempt to obtain another Golden Eagle Pass. They are driving a silver and red bus with Massachusetts license plate number 11946. If you have any questions about the group, contact either Debbie Bird or Jim Schlinkmann at 307-467-5283. [cc:Mail message from Pat Brimmer, DETO, 6/10]
B.J., 24, of Laramie, Wyoming, was climbing the Durrance Route on Devils Tower on July 25th when he was struck in the lower leg by a 15-pound, bowling-ball size rock which had been dislodged by a climbing party several hundred feet above him. B.J. received a deep laceration across an achilles tendon, but was able to rappel on one leg and descend three pitches to the route's base with the assistance of friends. The park SAR team responded and conducted a 200-foot litter lowering followed by a belayed scree evacuation to the Tower trail. B.J. was treated and released at a hospital in Gillette, Wyoming, and will require further treatment from an orthopedic surgeon. B.J. was not wearing a helmet during the climb. [James Schlinkmann, CR, DETO, 7/26]
D.H., 23, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was lead climbing the 5.8+ Soler route on the morning of August 23rd when he fell upside down about 25 feet and injured his elbow. D.H. rested for a bit after the fall, then decided to attempt to lead the climb again. After leading up about 110 feet, his elbow began hurting, so he asked his belayer to lower him off the climb. D.H. and his partner were unaware, however, that he was too far up to reach the belay ledge below. While D.H. was being lowered, his partner, who was not tied into the rope, made a mistake and let the end of the rope slip through his belay device. D.H., who was still 50 feet up the route, fell backwards, landed on his back on a small ledge, and sustained a variety of injuries. Twelve members of the park's SAR team responded and performed a six-hour-long technical rescue operation. The rescue effort included a 300-foot, single-point suspension litter lowering down the vertical east face of the tower. D.H. is in good condition in Sundance Hospital and was being held for observation at the time of the report. He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. [DETO, 8/24]
E.R., 46, of Rapid City, South Dakota, was lead climbing the second pitch of the 5.6-rated Durrance route just before noon on June 5th when he lost his balance while trying to place protection and took a long leader fall. E.R. fell about 40 feet, landed on his head and shoulders on top of a column, bounced off the column, and fell another 15 feet. One of his protection pieces pulled out during the fall. When he was finally caught by his belayer, E.R. was hanging upside down and was only semi-conscious. Local climbing guides on the tower were able to reach E.R. and lower him to the base of the climbing route. The Devils Tower SAR team responded and performed a belayed litter lower and carryout. E.R. was held for several days in a Rapid City hospital, where he was treated for a fractured arm and facial injuries. He was wearing a protective climbing helmet at the time of the accident which probably saved his life. [Jim Schlinkman, CR, DETO, 6/14]
J.H., 22, a climber from Chicago, was killed on July 1st when he fell about 150 feet from a point about 400 feet up the side of the tower in the Meadows area. According to witnesses, J.H. was not tied into a rope at the time of the accident, and slipped off a large ledge. Efforts to revive him by park rangers and EMT's proved fruitless. Several other agencies and many local climbers participated in the rescue effort. [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO, 7/3]
Around noon on August 11th, E.H., 22, of Payette, Idaho, was overcome by heat stroke while climbing the second pitch of the 5.7 Pseudo- Weissner route on Devils Tower. E.H. became dehydrated in the 90 degree temperatures, stopped sweating, and lost consciousness on several occasions. Her climbing partners quickly lowered her to the base of the cliff, where rangers and local EMS personnel applied ice packs and started IVs. The park's SAR team performed a belayed litter lower and carryout to the Tower trail. E.H. was then taken to a local hospital, where she was treated for heat stroke and released. E.H. was not legally registered to climb on the tower, and will accordingly be issued a citation. [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO]
The park's visitation doubled during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, with a high of almost 2,600 vehicles recorded on August 9th. Normal August traffic at the park is about 1,000 vehicles per day. The most significant incident that occurred in the area was a head-on collision just outside the park which involved four motorcycles and left five people injured and one dead. Attendance at this year's rally - about 215,000 people - was just shy of the all-time record set for the 50th rally in 1991. [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO]
The annual "Solstice Event" held in the park concluded peacefully on June 26th. The focus of the week was a "World Peace and Prayer Day," which was held on June 21st. Several hundred Native American riders rode 1500 miles from Canada to the park. Another 2,000 people, including Native Americans and New Age practitioners, attended the week's events. Among other activities held during the week were a Native American sun dance, a sacred hoop run, and a scheduled First Amendment protest activity by a local climber (a voluntary June closure to climbing is part of the park's climbing management plan, now being tested in court). An Intermountain Field Area special events team provided assistance on site from June 16th to the 26th. Due to around-the-clock patrol coverage and an increased ranger presence, the event went smoothly, with few arrests and citations. [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO]
J.P., 21, of Roscoe, Illinois, an experienced climber who had previously ascended Devils Tower, was killed in a climbing accident on August 20th. J.P. was lead climbing about 500 feet up the side of the tower on the Bailey Direct finish to the 5.6 (moderately difficult) Durrance route when he fell over 50 feet, landing on a ledge and sustaining massive head injuries. J.P. was climbing with his father, N.P., at the time. Neither was wearing a climbing helmet. A climber/paramedic on a pitch below J.P. reached the ledge within minutes. Rangers were able to send up a park radio and EMS gear to the paramedic via ropes. J.P. expired about 30 minutes after the accident. Ranger Chris Holbeck ascended a fixed line 450 feet to the ledge and helped console the father and lower him to the base of the climb. Holbeck then rappelled down with the victim, who was transported out by the park's rescue team. Ranger Robert Moelder was strike team leader for the incident. Holbeck and Moelder climbed the mountain the following day to conduct an investigation. They determined that J.P. took a 100 foot leader fall and pulled out one piece of protection, a number five wired rock stopper. His next piece of protection was only 50 feet above the belay ledge. The fall was probably caused by J.P. pulling out a two-foot by two-foot piece of rock near the top of the pitch. It is unclear whether the rope and protection caught him or the ledge stopped his fall. [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO]
On the afternoon of July 10th, a sudden severe lightning storm struck Devils Tower. The summit and west face of the tower were hit by numerous lightning strikes. One bolt hit the lower part of the west face and dislodged several large rocks, which fell onto a climbing party below, striking four climbers, three of whom received minor injuries. A fourth climber, J.M. of Forest City, Iowa, suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung from a large rock that hit him in the side. J.M. completed the descent with assistance from his climbing party and was treated by park rangers. The climbers said that a bolt of lightning struck the tower above them, and that they saw lightning travel down a rock column a couple of cracks away from the route they had been climbing. There were a total of 24 climbers on the tower at the time. [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO, 7/13]
On August 21st, K.P., 49, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, fell six feet while leading the "Direct Southwest" 5.7 route on Devils Tower. K.P., who weighs 220 pounds and is diabetic, shattered two bones in his ankle during the fall. The park SAR team performed a difficult, four-hour- long technical rescue operation, which included a 170-foot, single-point litter lowering, followed by a long scree evacuation. Ranger Greg Fontaine was incident commander and Mike Gallant was litter attendant. K.P. was transported to a hospital in Gillette for surgery. [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO, 8/29]
On September 11th, R.H. of Austin, Texas, died in a rappelling accident on Devils Tower. R.H. was climbing with a partner, A.B., on the difficult Weissner Route. R.H., who had flown from Australia to Denver and driven from Denver to Devils Tower the day before, became exhausted and couldn't complete the climb. A.B., the lead climber, was about 50 feet above R.H. on a belay ledge, and switched the belay rope to a rappel. R.H. hooked up for the rappel and descended down the south face. According to witnesses, R.H.'s rope was not long enough to reach a lower rappel station and he likely rappelled off the end of his rope. He then fell approximately 130 feet to the ground, sustaining fatal injuries. R.H. nearly landed on two climbers at the base of the tower. Ranger Derrick Perez directed the multi-agency rescue operation; ranger Nicole Mortensen performed CPR on the victim with the assistance of other climbers. R.H. was wearing a climbing helmet. There have now been a total of four climbing fatalities on Devils Tower, including three in the last five years. The accident followed a fatal visitor heart attack three days previously, during which rangers Jason Johnson and Jim Schlinkmann performed CPR for about an hour. A CISD team from Pennington County, South Dakota, will meet with park staff this week. [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO, 9/15]
On the afternoon of March 2nd, the Crook County Sheriff's Department notified rangers that they'd received a 911 call reporting that a visitor had fallen and suffered a head injury. Ranger Joel Barnett served as incident commander and organized a rescue effort. Rescue personnel from Hulett Ambulance and Fire Department responded along with the park search and rescue team. Every member of the park staff assisted with the rescue effort. Barnett was first on scene and found that C.G., 16, had fallen approximately 80 feet and was semi-conscious with low blood pressure. According to witnesses, C.G. had been climbing unroped up a 5.5 crack on the south face of Devils Tower when he slipped and fell. He slid on his stomach approximately 40 feet, then catapulted backwards an additional 40 feet, landing on the rocks below. The rescue team evacuated C.G. via a 200-foot belayed litter lower. He was transported to a hospital in Sundance, Wyoming, then transferred to a second hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota. He was diagnosed with a closed head injury, fractured ankle, and a broken nose. C.G. has no memory of the incident. He was treated and released from the hospital the next day. [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO, 3/7]
The 60th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, held on the second week of August in Sturgis, South Dakota, produced the largest rally-related traffic at the park in its history, with over 14,500 motorcycles and cars entering the park during the seven-day event. Traffic peaked on Wednesday, August 9th, when the nearby small town of Hulett hosted the annual "Ham and Jam" pig roast and party, an event that drew several thousand bikers. Visitors waited as long as an hour to enter the park, which had about three times its normal visitation. Two members of the Midwest Region SET team based at Mount Rushmore and a ranger from Little Bighorn Battlefield NM assisted the park in managing the event. Parking assistance was also provided by the Wyoming chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association. Rangers responded to several accidents and medical emergencies in and outside the park and handled illegal drug cases, domestic disputes, wildlife violations and traffic offenses. They also assisted the local sheriff's office with two arrests just outside the park. [Ryan Petersen, PR, DETO, 8/17]
Rangers responded to a report of a man with a gunshot wound outside of park boundaries on July 2nd. P.S., 48, was found in the parking lot of the Devils Tower Trading Post with a single, small caliber bullet wound in his left forearm. P.S. had been looking through binoculars at the terrain around the tower when he was struck in the left arm. Neither P.S. nor any of the witnesses was able to identify the source of the gunshot. Rangers secured the immediate scene, treated P.S., and turned the case over to the Crook County Sheriff's Department. Officers from five agencies searched the campground, ranch and bluffs around the scene. No suspect has been identified. A .22 caliber bullet was retrieved from P.S.'s left forearm. [Scott Brown, CR, DETO, 7/3]
A severe thunderstorm passed over the park on July 8th, dropping two-and-a-half inch hail and two inches of rain. The storm broke windows on two park residences and damaged visitor, resident and numerous park vehicles. High winds broke many trees, resulting in the loss of power for about two hours. Several climbers reported injuries, including bruises and lacerations from falling hail and debris. Two climbers - Kathleen Chumacero, 40, and Forrest Weller, 41 - were struck by lightning splash while descending the northwest face of the tower. They were treated at a local hospital and released. [Scott Brown, CR, DETO, 7/9]
The 62nd annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally took place between August 4th and August 11th. The event has a significant impact on parks throughout the Black Hills region. Over a seven-day period, more that 11,000 vehicles entered Devils Tower, including approximately 1,600 more motorcycles than during the event last year. Rally activities within the park were managed under ICS with the cooperation of all park divisions. Additional law enforcement personnel were detailed from the Intermountain Regional Office, Bighorn Canyon NRA, and Rocky Mountain NP to augment Devils Tower protection rangers and help handle the influx of visitors and demand for emergency services. For the seventh year, 20 volunteers from the Wyoming Chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association assisted with traffic management, significantly lessening the burden on park staff. Resources were taxed over the course of the week as protection rangers responded to numerous EMS incidents, including two multiple patient motorcycle accidents with critical traumatic injuries and extremity amputations immediately outside the park. Severe weather on Wednesday, August 7th, produced over an inch of rain, hail, and extensive lightning strikes in the area over a two-hour period, stranding many visitors. LE incidents were numerous but minor in nature. Cooperation with other agencies, including the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Crook County Sheriff's Department, and Crook County Fire and EMS, again contributed to the effective management of the event. [Kevin Donnell, Acting CR, DETO]
On May 17th, J.W., 27, of Bozeman, Montana, fell 350
feet to her death while climbing Devils Tower. J.W. was rappelling
near the El Cracko Diablo climbing route when the accident occurred.
Rangers are investigating with the assistance of officers from the Crook
County Sheriff's Department. Fifteen people were involved in the
recovery operation, including local guides, Hulett FD personnel, and two
visiting employees from Wind Cave and Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
The park set a record for visitation during this year's 64th annual
Black Hills Motorcycle Rally, a week-long event held in nearby Sturgis,
South Dakota. A total of 13,889 bikes and autos entered the park during
a seven day stretch from August 8th to August 14th, nearly five percent
higher than any previous year. Wednesday, August 11th, was the busiest
day in the park's 98 year history, with 3,346 bikes and autos entering
the park. Operations during this period were managed under ICS and were
supported by rangers from Rocky Mountain NP, Mount Rushmore NM and
Little Bighorn Battlefield NM and by 26 volunteers. Rangers dealt with
several minor EMS incidents and motor vehicle accidents. In addition,
they apprehended and arrested a paraglider on the morning of August 9th.
C.H., 27, of Austria, was charged with multiple violations
for launching a paraglider from the top of the tower. The brief, seven
minute flight received considerable attention from rally participants
and local communities.
The period from Wednesday, July 12th, through Sunday, July 16th, was exceptionally demanding for the park's small staff. During that period, protection rangers and other park personnel assisted an unconscious visitor at a nearby gift shop, a visitor injured in the boulder field at the base of the tower, a diabetic visitor, and three visitors on park trails, including a lost child. Heat in the high 90s and low 100s was a factor. In addition, a lightning storm on the night of July 12th started a number of small fires in the area just south of the park. This escalated the following day to an "all call" from county fire officials. The park responded with a wildland engine and crew. The fires quickly grew into a full-blow complex fire - the Thorn Divide Complex - that at one point was threatening the park, causing staff to consider plans for evacuation. A Type 2 incident management team was assigned. The complex was eventually contained at just under 15,000 acres on July 18th. Over 900 firefighters and overhead were assigned to it at its peak. Park staff assisted by supporting the firefighting effort to the full extent of its modest resources. [Bill Yett, Chief of Maintenance, and Greg Johnson, Lead LE Ranger]
The week of August 6th to August 10th marked the 67th anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Nearly 12,000 people visited the park, more than double the normal figure. Staff from every park division, including campground hosts, volunteers and history association staff, were involved in activities ranging from garbage pickup, fee collection and parking to interpretive programs and EMS responses. Additional protection rangers were brought in from Mount Rushmore, Bighorn Canyon, Yellowstone, and Rocky Mountain. A fire truck from Wind Cave and an engine boss from Badlands were stationed at the park in the event of a wildfire. The Christian Motorcycle Association returned for their 13th rally to handle parking an estimated 8,500 motorcycles over the course of the week. Without this additional help, the park could not have safely handled the high influx of visitation and would like to thank everyone involved. Although park visitation doubled, there was only one minor EMS response within the park. Rangers made numerous visitor contacts, informing people about the current open burning ban, smoking on trails, dogs on trails and motorcycles on the paved tower trail. Climbing activity on the tower was also unusually high. The event was handled using ICS. Chief ranger Dona Rutherford serving as IC. [Taryn Flesjer, Acting Chief of Resource Management]
The southeast face of Devils Tower was struck by lightning on the evening of August 19th, blowing apart a large boulder at the base of the tower and shifting a washing-machine-sized rock almost two feet down slope. This rock is located almost 700 feet up Devils Tower and on a rock climbing route. Directly below the rock in question is Tower Trail, the most popular hiking trail in the park. Park officials closed several climbing routes along the southeast and east faces of the tower until the stability of the rock could be determined. Working with staff from the Geologic Resource Division, it was determined that the rock is no more a significant hazard than any number of other rocks in the area. All climbing routes were reopened on August 24th. Lightning and other meteorological events are constantly altering the shape of the tower and are a natural part of its formation. [Taryn Flesjer, Acting Chief of Resource Management]
On the evening of May 23rd, the park received a call from two stranded climbers who were on the southwest face of the tower, asking for help. A.T. and T.H. were stranded one pitch down on the southwest rappel route, unable to pull their ropes from above due to a knot. The climbers had no headlamps, but were able to utilize the flash on their camera to help rescuers locate them. Due to lightning, thunder, fog and rain, though, it proved nearly impossible to determine their exact location. After communicating with A.T., climbing rangers learned that the two men had both ends of their rope and webbing material that could be used to make a prussic to ascend their stuck ropes. Due to the hazardous conditions, the rangers determined that the safest and quickest way to facilitate a rescue would be to instruct A.T. to ascend up his ropes to free the knot. A.T. was able to free his rope, then descend to T.H. and pull the ropes down for the next rappel. The rangers found that A.T. would then be able to rappel under his own power, but that T.H. was suffering from hypothermia and would need to be lowered with assistance from a climbing ranger via a tandem rappel. Both climbers safely reached the ground at 3:30 a.m. due to the expertise of the park's climbing rangers, law enforcement staff, and a local climbing guide. [Dona Rutherford, Chief Ranger]
On the evening of July 3rd, chief ranger Drew Gilmour received a call from the Crook County Sheriff's Office advising that two climbers were reportedly stuck high on the side of Devils Tower. The visiting climbers had summited around 6:30 p.m. via the Belle Fourche Buttress area on the east side. While attempting to rappel down the same route, they found that they were unable to reach the ledge at the top of the next rappel. One climber was lowered to the ledge and the other rappelled down to make an intermediate anchor, but found that they were unable to pull the ropes to retrieve them. The two climbers did not have headlamps and were still stuck on the tower when darkness fell. Worried friends of the climbers came out to find them and called for a rescue. Protection and climbing rangers reached the base of the route to find friends of the climbers heading up a route leading to the first stranded climber. Climbing rangers Will Buckman and Sean Nelb ascended this party's fixed lines to reach the ledge. They then climbed the remaining distance to reach the ends of the higher climber's ropes, built a temporary anchor, and fixed a rappel to the ledge below. All parties then rappelled to the base of Devils Tower, leaving the stuck ropes and anchor hardware for later retrieval during daylight hours. Rescue personnel and climbers reached the parking lot safely at 3 a.m. Gilmour was IC for this incident. [Drew Gilmour, Chief Ranger]
On October 30th, rangers received a phone call from Crook County dispatch regarding a group of climbers who were stuck on the south side of Devils Tower with a rope caught in a crack. They had no headlamps or proper cold weather clothing and had only a little food and water with them. The five climbers, all from Iowa, were on a single-day climb to the summit via the Durrance Route when the incident occurred. Two of them reached the summit around 4 p.m. The climbers then descended to The Meadows, a relatively flat section on the south side of Devils Tower about 120 feet from the summit. One of them rappelled to a point about 140 feet below The Meadows. The plan was for the remaining four to pull the rope back up, for three of them to be lowered, and for the fifth and final person to rappel down and join them. The rope, however, got stuck. The first climber then called for assistance. Rangers Drew Gilmour, Tim Raaf and Joe Stiver responded and enlisted three local climbers - Keith Noback, Dave Schrall, and Chris Engle - in the rescue operation. Noback and Schrall started climbing the Durrance Route at 10 p.m., reaching the stranded climbers at 4 a.m. Noback, a local doctor, completed a brief medical assessment of the climbers, with particular attention to the possibility of hypothermia. All five climbers were cold and tired, but able to complete the rappel down. Engle, waiting at the bottom of the Durrance Route, sent the climbers down the last 120 foot rappel to awaiting rangers and local fire and EMS personnel. All climbers returned safely, with only minor signs of hypothermia. The temperature at 3:30 a.m. was 33 degrees, with light snow falling and winds blowing from 25 to 30 mph and gusting to 45 mph. This was the third climbing search and rescue operation conducted in the park this year. Gilmour, the park's chief ranger, was IC. Stive handled communications, and Raff logistics. [Tim Raaf, Seasonal Ranger]
Rangers responded to a report of a rock climber trapped on Devils Tower on the afternoon of August 9th. K.S. was walking across a ledge on top of a popular climbing route called "El Cracko Diablo" when a four-foot-tall boulder that he leaned against rolled onto his legs, pinning him in place 530 feet above the ground. Ranger Sean Nelb and a local climbing guide climbed to K.S.'s location. While rangers were responding, other climbers on the ledge were able to free K.S. from the boulder after 20 minutes of being trapped. Although his condition was stable, K.S.'s left leg had a puncture wound, exhibited a slight deformity, and was extremely painful. It was determined that he could not rappel down on his own, so he was placed in a rescue triangle and lowered 230 feet with Nelb to another ledge where rangers were staged with a Stokes litter. After transferring him to the Stokes litter, he was lowered 300 feet to the ground, where more rangers carried him to a waiting ambulance. The incident concluded after four hours of effort from more than 20 personnel. Amazingly, X-rays showed that K.S. had not broken any bones, and he was walking later that evening. Chief Ranger Drew Gilmour was incident commander for the rescue. [Drew Gilmour, Chief Ranger]
On August 19, a thunderstorm hit the park, dropping 1.5 inches of rain and five inches of hail ranging in size from "golf ball" to "baseball," and wind gusts as high as 110 miles per hour. Many large trees came down, including one that hit the ranger station. The park closed for two days to assess and recover from the incident. The Joyner Ridge Trail remained closed for several days longer due to "major damage," and has since reopened. Source: Cowboy State Daily
On September 22, a 21-year-old was rappelling off a rock climbing route known as El Cracko Diablo when they fell. Personnel from Hulett (WY) EMS Paramedic pronounced the individual deceased at the scene. The individual's climbing partner was left stranded in the incident and was rescued off the route with support from Devils Tower Lodge Climbing Guides and Buck Wild Climbing Guides. NPS staff and Crook County (WY) Sheriff's Office also supported the incident. It is only the seventh climbing fatality on Devils Tower in recorded history. Source: Devils Tower National Monument | |