FALLING ROCK

Alberta, Rocky Mountains, Mount Fay

On August 2, a party of three were climbing the center ice bulge on the North Face Ice routes when one of the climbers was hit by rockfall, sustaining a lower leg fracture. The party lowered the injured climber to the glacier below. One of them then descended to Moraine Lake and reported the accident to Warden Service Dispatch. The injured climber was flown out by a warden service rescue team.

Analysis

The accident happened around 0830 during a very hot period of weather with little or no freezing at night. The 1998 summer in the Canadian Rockies was poor in general for routes subject to rockfall from melt. (Source: Parks Canada Warden Service)