On October 19, 2023, at 6:47pm, Gallatin County 911 received a call for a hang-gliding accident near the Rockhaven Camp and Retreat Center in the Gallatin Canyon. It was later discovered the incident was actually a BASE jumping accident and the patient had suffered a possible neck injury. The BASE jumper had fallen along the cliff face after deploying their parachute and landed on top of a steep rocky incline. 

The Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue Valley Section and Heli Team, American Medical Response (AMR), Gallatin Gateway Fire Department, and Billings Clinic MedFlight all responded to the area. Valley members with an alpine endorsement deployed to the patient where they used low angle technical rope rescue techniques to get them to the awaiting ground crews.  Once down, ground crews transported the patient via one wheeled litter to the staging area. Ultimately the patient was flown by air ambulance to Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center for further evaluation.

Sheriff Dan Springer would like to thank the bystanders who recognized the emergency and called dispatch to activate the Search and Rescue call. This event happened in an area without cell service and without someone promptly leaving to call 911, the initiation of a rescue could have been significantly delayed.

Photo courtesy of the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office.