A climber suffered serious injuries after falling about 50 feet near Dromedary Peak in Salt Lake County on Friday morning, triggering a rapid rescue effort that had the patient off the mountain and headed to a hospital in just over an hour. The fall happened around 9:20 a.m. as the climber was attempting the Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup, a demanding traverse through the range above the Salt Lake Valley.
The WURL is not a conventional trail: route creator Jared Campbell describes it as an endurance scramble circling Little Cottonwood Canyon, roughly 36 miles long with about 18,000 feet of elevation gain. His route description says it includes more than 20 named peaks and advises participants to have a solid rock-climbing background and experience on loose, rocky terrain. Campbell’s route guide notes that serious accidents and deaths have occurred on peaks and ridges along the route.
Salt Lake County Search and Rescue crews responded to reports of the fall, according to FOX 13 News Utah. The Utah Department of Public Safety and Life Flight also responded to the scene as crews worked to reach the injured climber near the peak.
Salt Lake County’s rescue team is made up of about 40 mountain-rescue volunteers who respond to backcountry emergencies day or night, year-round. The county says members train in technical rock and ice climbing, high-angle snow mountaineering and emergency medical services—skills relevant to reaching and evacuating injured people in steep terrain. The team also handles calls involving fallen or stranded climbers, among other emergencies.
A Fast-Moving Rescue in the Wasatch
Once crews arrived, a medic hoisted the patient and moved them to the search-and-rescue command area that had been set up for the operation, per the same account. From there, the climber was flown by Life Flight helicopter to a local hospital for treatment of the serious injuries suffered in the fall.
The entire rescue, from the initial 9:20 a.m. report to the climber's transport off the mountain, wrapped up by 10:21 a.m. — a roughly one-hour window that reflects how quickly Salt Lake County's search-and-rescue and aviation resources were able to mobilize for a technical rescue in steep terrain.
What Remains Unknown
The climber's identity, age and hometown have not been released, and the exact nature of the injuries beyond being described as serious has not been disclosed. It also has not been established whether the climber was secured by ropes or other protective equipment at the moment of the fall, nor has the specific hospital receiving the patient been identified.
The Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup was the route the climber was attempting when the fall occurred. The incident underscores the risks of climbing in the range.
The terrain near Dromedary helps explain why the route demands more than endurance alone. In a Wasatch Mountain Club account of a Dromedary and Sunrise Peaks outing, hikers encountered loose scree, boulders and exposed Class IV scrambling on the ridge. The club described the outing as one of the Wasatch’s more technical days, underscoring the route-finding and climbing challenges around the area where Friday’s fall occurred.
