A Surrey teen was sent to a hospital in Oregon this week after surviving a 150-metre fall while climbing Oregon’s Mount Hood.
16-year-old Gurbaz Singh was climbing Mount Hood with friends earlier in the week, when he lost his footing on the ice, falling from a section known as the Pearly Gates, where he shattered his femur.
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“It happened pretty quick, so it was kind of unexpected,” Singh told CBC News from the hospital in Portland.
UPDATE: The 16-year-old injured climber has been safely transported to @timberlinelodge , where an @AMRHQ ambulance awaits.
Thanks to all the search volunteers who helped with this successful operation today. pic.twitter.com/o2n9GAgXrA
— Clackamas Sheriff (@ClackCoSheriff) December 31, 2019
He fell while at an elevation of 3,200 metres, where it took rescuers four hours to find him, splint his leg, and bring him down the mountain.
A public relations officer with the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Marcus Mendoza, explained the ice wasn’t strong enough at that point in the season to hold the boy.
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“The Pearly Gates is a narrow chute — almost like climbing up a chimney,” he said to CBC.
He added that rescuers were “amazed” Singh survived with only a broken leg.
Singh was attempting his 98th summit at the time of the fall. He expects to be back climbing once his leg heals.
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