A woman fell about 20 feet while rappelling near Smith Rock State Park and was knocked unconscious Sunday, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said Monday. Search and rescue used a combination of ropes, a litter and a raft to get her to an ambulance to take her to the hospital.
Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue unit was dispatched to the park around 1:20 p.m. Sunday. The climber, a 58-year-old Bend woman, was rappelling off Brogan Spire on Bureau of Land Management land north of Smith Rock State Park when she fell.
DCSO said the woman was knocked out for several minutes before regaining consciousness.
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Local climbers were able to help the injured woman from a suspended position onto an elevated ledge. Responding SAR volunteers climbed about 50 feet to the ledge.
Using ropes and a litter, the woman was lowered to the ground. She was then lowered another 600 feet down a steep slope, then another 600 feet to the canal. From there, Redmond Fire and Rescue put her into a raft and shuttled her to an ambulance.
The condition of the climber was not released, but a photo provided by DCSO shows her in the litter with her hand up, holding something.
