March 29, 2024
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Climber injured in fall at Acadia

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK – A young woman from Providence, R.I., was injured Sunday morning while rock climbing on the South Precipice Wall, according to a park ranger.

The 21-year-old woman was about 50 feet off the ground when she lost her footing and fell, Ranger Richard Rechholtz said Monday. She was being belayed by ropes and plunged only about 20 feet, he said.

“The rope system did catch her,” Rechholtz said.

She was not wearing a helmet, however, and was upside down when she “pendulummed” into the rock face, injuring her head and her foot, he said. She was lowered slowly to the ground before rangers and medical personnel arrived, gave her medical treatment and took her to Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor.

“I think it was just a cut to the back of her head, but I’m not sure,” Rechholtz said.

Rechholtz said he did not know the woman’s name or whether she was still at the hospital.

Several park trails on Champlain Mountain and Dorr Mountain, including Precipice Trail, remain closed since they were damaged in a 3.9 magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Maine on Oct. 2.

“The south wall of Precipice is open to climbing,” Rechholtz said.


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