Injured teen Smith Rock climber rescued
A 17-year-old Redmond resident fell about 20 feet and injured his ankle while climbing at Smith Rock State Park Saturday morning, prompting his call for help and a rescue operation involving Redmond fire crews and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue volunteers.
County 911 dispatchers got a call around 8:40 a.m. from the teen, who said he’d been climbing down the west side of the Asterisk Pass climbing area when he fell, hurt his ankle and needed help getting out, said sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Winters, assistant SAR coordinator.
The teen, who authorities did not identify, told dispatchers he’d been climbing alone at the time of the fall.
Redmond Fire & Rescue established command and sent a “reach and treat” team across the Crooked River to reach the youth and begin treating his injuries, said Battalion Chief Chris Simmons.
Meanwhile, two sheriff’s deputies and 13 SAR volunteers responded to assist, Winters said, while five Redmond firefighters The first volunteers arrived around 10 a.m. and helped Redmond fire crews ferry personnel and gear across the river by rubber raft, then began the long, steep hike to the teen at the base of Asterisk Pass.
Once they arrived at the teen’s location, rescuers placed him in a wheeled litter and brought him back down to the river, where he was loaded onto the raft and ferried across to a waiting Redmond fire ambulance, Winters said. The youth was taken to St. Charles-Redmond with non-life-threatening injuries, he said, and his parents were notified and met their son at the hospital.
Winters said they learned the teen had been hiking on the east side of Smith Rock when he decided to climb up and over Asterisk Pass, despite having no gear and that he “lacked the necessary expertise to successfully negotiate the climb.”
Winters said the sheriff’s office wants to remind those recreating at Smith Rock to familiarize themselves with the varying difficulty levels there before setting out, and to have the proper training and equipment to safely complete their climb or hike.
