Offbeat News

A rock climber was rescued by firefighters Sunday night after her hair became entangled in her descending device, leaving her dangling 20 feet above the ground for about a half hour.The woman, who seemed to be in her 20s with long black hair to the middle of her back, was still shaking an hour after the incident. She declined to give her name or age.

About 6:30 p.m., the woman was rappelling down a 65-foot cliff next to the Boise River along Idaho 21 near the Diversion Dam when her hair got caught in her rappelling device about 20 feet above the ground, said Steve Rasulo, a Boise Fire Department battalion chief.

She was not wearing a helmet and her hair seemed to be loosely braided, firefighters said.

One of three men with her tried to help but got his shirt caught in his descending device. He was able to get himself free after tearing his shirt and get to the ground. One of her companions called 911, and firefighters and paramedics responded.

Boise firefighters rigged their own rappelling system on the cliff above the woman. Firefighter Shane Nelson then lowered himself to her, attached her to his system, cut off a small section of her hair and rappelled them both to the ground safely about 7 p.m.

The woman was uninjured, but it took her several minutes to recover before she could walk back up to the top of the cliffs, said Mike Blach, Ada County Paramedics field supervisor.

“When you’re stuck in a harness like that, your legs go numb, and it’s painful,” Blach said.

Firefighters said the situation might have been prevented if the woman had been wearing a helmet.

The department has responded to about three incidents in which people have had their hair caught in rappelling devices in the past few years, Rasulo said.

“We enjoy a lot of climbing in the Boise area, but a lot of people don’t wear helmets,” Rasulo said.

“A helmet could have made a huge difference in a lot of these calls,” he said.

Source: Idaho Statesman

Editor’s Response:

Not only did the woman get stuck by her hair, but her friend that tried to help got stuck by his shirt. Seems like some inexperienced climbers to me. I guess this is just one more reason to use a helmet.

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Related posts:

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