[Rob del Desierto]

http://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S= ... enu498_2_2

A Utah man is lucky to be alive after falling more than 100 feet while rock climbing in Zion National Park.

Eric Schriever and his friend were climbing in the park Tuesday when Eric lost control during a decent. His friend was video taping at the time and caught the 100 foot fall on tape.

Eric hit his head on the rocks several times, but he was wearing a helmet and was conscious when he hit the bottom.

"I hit the bottom and I realized I was okay," he said. "Completely humbled, because I realized that I had just experienced a miracle, because there's no way I should be here today."

Eric did suffer burns to his hands from trying to grab the rope and slow his fall.

I have no idea what canyon he was in, but there is a video on the link. One of our more Zion-savvy members can ID the canyon.

[allanalxndr]

Hearing him fall and smack his head on the walls was pretty intense. That was crazy.

[jeffmacewen]

I'm glad helmets are catching on, finally...

[AZ-Outdoorsman]

The canyon is Englestead. The fall happened on the big rap (almost 300') that drops you into the canyon. Glad he is ok - a lot of mistakes for this big of a rap. VERY fortunate to be alive.

[nonot]

He wasn't wearing a helmet as far as I can determine, it's his backpack hitting the walls and protecting his noggin. The guy was an idiot, he couldn't control his descent, by some miracle got stopped by a knot, and proceeded to immediately undo the tangle so he could continue his uncontrolled rappel. He didn't exactly fall either as he was still attached to the rope. Unfortunately you don't get the Darwin award if you live.

[jeffmacewen]

It looks like he has on an orange helmet...

[nonot]

No helmet, but this moron got on the news again! He blames his misuse of gear instead of his lack of use of his brain.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/ ... 8#31461108

[Rob del Desierto]

No helmet

he was wearing a helmet

It did look like he was a bit in over his head, though.

[jeffmacewen]

Was that his first time out of the gym on-rope??

[big_load]

I saw that on the news. He was lucky to have hit the wall early on (lucky, too, not to smash his pumpkin) and have some friction on the way down.

[nonot]

1:16 into the today show interview - no helmet. The "News" never reports anything correctly.

Edit: the orange/red thing is his backpack.

[big_load]

Yeah, I didn't realize until I saw this thread that anyone thought he had a helmet on.

[jeffmacewen]

Nice.

[SuperstitionGuy]

Anyone can survive a 100 foot fall. It's the stop that kills ya...

[Rob del Desierto]

The "News" never reports anything correctly.

Sadly seems to be true, most of the time.

When I used to climb, I always used a helmet outdoors. I may not have looked super-suave, but I never busted my head open either.

[jeffmacewen]

The "News" never reports anything correctly.

Sadly seems to be true, most of the time.

When I used to climb, I always used a helmet outdoors. I may not have looked super-suave, but I never busted my head open either.

Helmets would have saved most of the people listed as fatalities in the annual "Accidents in NA Mountaineering."

[desert spirit]

He fell 100 feet from a cliff -- one hundred feet! -- and he's interviewed the same night on the evening news with not a scratch on him. Goodness, most people would be covered from head-to-toe with cuts and bruises, and at least a broken bone or two. If nothing else, they'd be so sore they could hardly move. Comparable to an auto accident, I'd say. A day or two in the hospital wouldn't be too much to expect.

That boy must have some mighty recuperative powers.

[jeffmacewen]

He was still roped in, just out of control. That fact alone saved his life...

[sarichter]

i made the mistake of not wearing a helmet mountain biking.... after one accident, i will never do that again. just never crossed my mind to wear one... complete stupidity but i wised up quick

[base871]

Helmets are important! I had a close BASE jumping buddy who never wore one. Had a wall strike in the superstitions, hit his head really hard. He lived, but he's a bit slower now and his balance is waaaay off. He wears a helmet now when he jumps, but its a little late.