Scene of technical rescue April 26 in the vicinity of the Index Town Wall mountain crags.
Photo sent by way of Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue
UPDATE, 10 P.M. Sunday April 27: The exact length of fall is currently in doubt with conflicting information between two official sources. The Tribune has retracted the length of fall.
INDEX — A 47-year-old female climber fell 100 feet off of the Town of Index 'wall' Saturday, April 26, creating a tricky rescue and quick measures by fellow climbers trained in health care.
The climber ended up about 20 feet up, ending up on the wall's buttress.
The 'wall' is a popular set of at times near-vertical rock climbing granite crags in the forest near the town of Index, according to climbing sport publications. A former climber wrote in "Climbing Magazine" warning novices not to climb the wall.
The woman was transported to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett with knee and head injuries that were extensively painful but not life-threatening, Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue said.
Official rescuers "utilized the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office SnoHawk helicopter to hoist the victim to safety." the press release said.
When she fell at around 3 p.m. Saturday, nearby climbers who happened to be nurses and one ER technician assisted with care, Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue said.
The woman's hometown was not made immediately available.
Sky Valley Fire said that "we are fortunate that our Rope Rescue team trains frequently on this exact rock face and carried out the rescue safe and efficiently. Additionally, this is a huge story of where realistic training, trust and collaboration with mutual partners paid off for successful completion of a very technical high angle rescue."
