I arrived at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park shortly before sunset and set up camp. I had little idea what awaited me the next day, or the ordeal one man was enduring below the north face of the canyon as I bedded down comfortably in my sleeping bag.

Shortly before my arrival in the late afternoon two climbers had begun an ascent of the north face of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, expecting to be to the top well before sunset. They had only made it up a few feet when one did a swing and crashed into the rock, injuring himself in the process. He was unable to continue climbing, so they lowered themselves to the base, and the climbing companion went for help.

Fortunately there is a way to hike out that doesn't require technical climbing, but unfortunately it was too late in the day to start the rescue effort, and the injured climber was forced to spend the night alone at the base of the canyon.

At first light the rescue effort got underway in earnest and that was when I woke to people moving up and down the path behind my campsite--more people than could be accounted for in the five or so occupied campsites. Once I learned what was going on I ended up spending the day watching and photographing the rescue effort.

It was decided that it would be too arduous and dangerous to carry the litter out the way the one climber had come up. Helicopter rescues are rarely considered in the Black Canyon due to its extreme narrowness, tricky winds and depth--to give you an idea how deep it is: If the Sears tower (the tallest building in the U.S.) was lowered into the canyon's shallowest point, there would still be 400 feet of canyon towering over it. So, the decision was made to haul the injured man and a trained paramedic up with ropes. The process took the entire day, and involved some 50 people in all, including a couple mountain rescue teams, paramedics, volunteers and park rangers. The injured man was finally brought to the top and transferred to the hospital as sunset was imminent.

I learned later that the injuries were not serious and that the man was released from the hospital the next day. He plans to climb again.