South Dakota, Badlands National Monument—On July 27, a party of 35 Boy Scouts from Fargo, North Dakota, was stopped at the Norbeck Pass Overlook in Badlands National Monument. The weather was very hot, the temperature being 102° F., but several of the Boy Scouts left the overlook and began scrambling on the side of a 250-foot cliff nearby. The cliff consisted of rotten sandstone ledges and clay. One of the boys, James Rasmussen (12), had descended part of the cliff and was returning by another route. He climbed up a narrow ravine toward the road but slid back down part way. He regained his feet and was climbing back up when he slipped again, and slid eighty feet down the steep cliff and then fell twenty-five feet free over a lip. The lip overhung a vertical sink hole twenty-five feet deep, with a narrow tunnel leading out of its bottom. The boy lit on his chest and forehead and slid head down into the tunnel, becoming wedged. This was at about 9:45 a.m. The accident was reported to Monument Headquarters at 10:00 a.m. and the Chief Ranger, Supervisory Ranger, two Seasonal Rangers and the Park Naturalist went directly to the scene of the accident and were able to rappel down to the boy and survey the situation. Another of the Scouts had managed to reach Rasmussen and was trying to comfort him. The victim was semi-conscious and irrational. As he was wedged into the tunnel, it was first necessary to dig him loose.

He was then treated for shock and placed in a Stokes litter. Standard mountain rescue techniques were used to evacuate the stretcher. The stretcher and bearer were raised by means of a winch. The boy was taken to the hospital in Kadoka, South Dakota about 35 miles away, arriving at 12:15 p.m. He suffered a concussion, internal injuries, a severe laceration over the eye, and multiple bruises and abrasions. Under hospital care he recovered in about a week.

Source: Acting Superintendent, James W. Godbolt, and Seasonal Manager James Thompson—Badlands National Monument.

Analysis: In any analysis of the accident it should be pointed out that the boy was climbing on rotten and dangerous rock and was completely without experience. Falling rock is a constant hazard here. A corrugated Fiberglas hood designed locally to protect the victim’s head by covering

that end of the stretcher, was used successfully. It proved invaluable as it was struck a number of times by falling rock.