BASE Jumper Rescued in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains

[airdog07]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headline...ion-mountains/

Posted: 02/29/2012

By: Steve Kuzj By: Steve Kuzj


APACHE JUNCTION, AZ - Mountain rescuers successfully rescued a man off the Superstition Mountains Wednesday night.

They had to be extremely careful; one mistake and someone could have fallen to their death.

WATCH VIDEO OF THE RESCUE BELOW

The part of the Superstition Mountains where the man was rescued is more than 600 feet tall.

The Pinal County Sheriff's office says 38-year-old Sam Baker from Eloy hiked up the mountain with some friends around 11 a.m. Wednesday.

When they got to the top, two of them used parachutes to jump off and float down to the ground.

The third to jump, Baker, deployed his chute after falling several hundred feet

Baker told ABC 15 News his parachute did not deploy as he expected. Baker's chute was supposed to deploy and pull him away from the side of the mountain, but instead, he slammed back into the face of the rock.

Rescuers say he could have plummeted to the ground and died, but lucky for him, he landed in a crevice

Instead he was stuck on a ledge about 150 feet from the ground.

One group of friends tried to reach him by climbing down from the top while the other two jumpers tried to climb up to Baker from the ground, according to PCSO spokesman Elias Johnson.

After five hours of trying to reach Baker, one of the friends called 911 for help.

Johnson said two dozen rescuers worked to get Baker tied into a harness so he could be safely lowered to the ground. The entire rescue took seven hours to complete.

Johnson said Baker did not require medical attention.

He added that friends indicated Baker is an experienced hiker and BASE jumper.

Baker says he wants the volunteer rescuers who saved him to be recognized for their incredible service.

Read more: VIDEO: BASE jumper rescued off Superstition Mountain

[adrenalinehigh]

Sounds painful, but at least he was not fatally injured and was grateful to the workers who helped get him down the mountain. It makes me cringe at the reality of how dangerous a jump could be, but the experience itself is worth the risk.