Crowders Mountain climber hurt badly after falling 70 feet down cliff

A climber at Crowders Mountain suffered life-threatening injuries Friday morning after falling 70 feet, Gaston County emergency officials said.

Two climbers were hiking up a trail and taking pictures near a lookout that’s also known as the mountain’s climbing wall, according to a release from the Gastonia Fire Department. One climber lost balance and fell down the wall.

Rescue workers went up the mountain to reach the fallen climber, the department said. They carried the climber, who wasn’t identified in the release, 100 feet up the side of the climbing wall then another 400 yards to be carried off the mountain.

The climber was taken to Caromont Regional Medical Center in Gastonia with life-threatening injuries, the release said.

Crowders Mountain State Park, which includes Crowders Mountain and a peak known as The Pinnacle, is popular with climbers. But its craggy peaks can also be dangerous.

A woman died in 2015 when she fell 150 feet from a cliff face as she posed for photographs, The Observer reported. Later that year, a hiker committed suicide by falling from the top of a trail in the park.

This story was originally published March 1, 2019 at 1:03 PM.