Positivity: Climber Survives 800-foot Fall
Ben Cort of Westminster, CO is beyond lucky (HT Drudge; video is at link):
Man survives 800 foot fall
Updated: 8/22/2006 10:24 PM MSTWESTMINSTER - When Ben Cort went to Longs Peak Saturday to climb with his friends, he never imagined what would happen once he reached the top.
Cort, from Westminster, was climbing an area called Lamb’s Slide, which is known for its icy and rocky terrain.
When Cort was at the top, he lost his footing and fell some 800 feet.
“The next thing you know I was just flying down the mountain without my ice axe,” he said. “That’s when it gets bad.”
Traveling at speeds witnesses estimate were near 40 mph, Cort stayed conscious for the entire fall.
“Total pandemonium,” he said. “I was head over heels and I was smacking my face on rocks. Rocks were coming down with me and then this boulder rolled over me a couple times.”
When Cort reached the bottom, he initially thought he was dead.
….. Remarkably, Cort not only survived, but was left with only a broken leg and shoulder, and some scrapes and cuts.
“I hit the ground and I felt my feet, I felt my fingers and was just so overcome with gratitude because I knew that God had just decided to save me,” he said.
His climbing group, which included a man with Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue, immediately came to his aid.
Cort says complete strangers also stopped to help him.
“It was hailing. It was raining. It was nasty,” he said. “And they didn’t even think twice.”
Cort also says the Flight for Life pilot took a risk by flying in the bad weather to land in a tricky spot to rescue him.
Cort was flown out of the area that night. He’s been recovering at St. Anthony Hospital since then.
It’s likely he’ll be released from the hospital this week, but it will be several months before he’s able to climb again.
“I’ll probably be out of climbing for about a year,” he said. “But I’m talking to you.”
