Injured climber rescued after fall

Grand Teton National Park rangers rescued an injured 18-year-old man during an overnight rescue after receiving a call for help around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Officials report Derek Wilcock of Kansas City, MO, did not have an ice axe and elected to climb down the steep exposed rock along the Southwest Couloir of Symmetry Spire while his partner, Quincy Nolton, 18, of Salem, UT, used an ice axe to negotiate the hard-packed snow.

Wilcock lost his footing and fell approximately 30 feet, landing on rocks and trees which prevented him from falling further. He suffered leg injuries which prevented him from proceeding.

Nolton was not uninjured.

Because it was dark, rangers responded to the area on foot and spent the night with Wilcock before conducting an aerial rescue the following morning.

He was transported to St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson.

Rangers advise hikers and climbers that snow at high elevations in the Tetons is unusually hard this year and recommend the use of ice axes and crampons.