On April 21 a climber (mid-20s) got his knee stuck in the crack of a 40-foot climb called Easy Jam (5.4) on the Nautilus formation. Neil Mathison, on duty as Albany County Sheriff’s deputy, and Rick Colling, of the Wyoming Highway Patrol, were on scene by 4 p.m. Mathison, who is experienced in high-angle rescue, reached the subject and ensured that he was anchored to the rock. Mathison then attempted to loosen the climber’s knee without success. He called for help from local climbers with the Medicine Bow Nordic Ski Patrol.

Ski patrollers arrived on scene with additional climbing and medical equipment by around 7:30 p.m. They ascended via an adjacent route (Cornelius, 5.5), set up a Z-rigged raising system at the top of the climb, and gave the subject some motor oil to lubricate his leg. They extricated him on the first pull. His leg was scraped, bruised, and sore.

Analysis

Some knowledge of climbing self-rescue within the party might have eliminated the need for an organized rescue. Because the climb is short, one rope would have been sufficient to establish a raising system above the stuck climber. (Source: Myron Allen, member of Medicine Bow Nordic Ski Patrol.)