BASE jumper rescued after crashing into cliff and dangling from parachute in Utah
- - BASE jumper rescued after crashing into cliff and dangling from parachute in Utah
Kate Reilly November 14, 2025 at 1:19 PM
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A large scale search and rescue operation in the Kane Creek area due to a BASE jumper incident. (Grand County Sheriff's Office)
A BASE jumper was safely rescued after he was seen dangling precariously from a cliff wall in the Kane Creek Area of Moab, Utah.
The 43-year-old man crashed into the wall around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a statement shared on Thursday by the Grand County EMS.
First responders reached the jumper at 3:15 p.m., treated him for moderate injuries and secured him to prevent the risk of further fall, the statement said. The man was lifted out of the cliff at 4 p.m.
Grand County EMS worked with Grand County Search and Rescue, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office, Classic Air Medical and the DPS Aero Bureau to conduct this rescue.
The man is now in stable, non-life-threatening condition, according to officials, who have not released his name.
After crashing into the cliff wall, the BASE jumper could be seen from town hanging hundreds of feet in the air, held up by his parachute which got caught on a rock above him.
"I think if he hadn't hung up on that rock, he would have fallen to his death," Scott Solle, the vice commander of the Grand County Search and Rescue Team, told NBC News.
"I think he got lucky," Solle added.
This incident occurred due to an "off-heading opening" of the jumper's parachute, Andy Smith, executive director of Grand County EMS, said.
"When the parachute deployed, it rotated the jumper approximately 180–360 degrees," Smith said. "In this situation, if a jumper deploys facing away from the cliff, an off-heading opening can spin them back toward the rock face."
The margin for error is extremely small in BASE jumping because the jumper is so close to the cliff at the moment of deployment, according to Smith.
"When a jumper is rotated toward the cliff with insufficient space to recover, it often results in a direct impact," Smith said.
Grand County officials rescue BASE jumpers on a regular basis during this time of year, Solle stated.
November is a particularly popular time for BASE jumping in Moab because of the cool temperatures and calm weather conditions, he explained.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
