Zak Wood / Colorado Daily

Phil Ensign approaches the Bastille formation Tuesday afternoon, passing by a memorial for Preston Brennan who recently passed away after a recent climbing fall. Tuesday afternoon a similar climbing accident occurred when an unroped climber fell on the same climbing route.

The Bastille rock formation in the Eldorado Canyon has already proven its power this month. On Friday, 47-year-old Preston Brennan died of head injuries sustained on July 13, when he plunged 50 feet from the formation.

On Tuesday, another solo rock climber fell 50 feet from nearly the same location, landing on the dirt road below during his attempt to surmount the crux of the "Werk Supp" route.

"He has sustained critical head, chest, leg and arm injuries," said David Blooton, Boulder County sheriff's emergency services supervisor. "He was not wearing a helmet."

Rocky Mountain Fire Department provided medical care on site and waited for a helicopter to airlift the climber to St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver, Blooton said.

"We got paged at 12:06 p.m. and there were people there within six minutes or less," said Blooton.

The basic search-and-rescue dispatch protocol involves the local fire district, the sheriff's deputies, Boulder County Emergency Services, Boulder County's dog team and the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group.

"In the state of Colorado, search and rescue is a free service," said Marci Linton, Boulder County Sheriff's Office Emergency Services Coordinator.

The deceased Superior man who climbed the formation two weeks prior utilized ropes and other safety equipment; in contrast, the only gear that yesterday's solo climber had were his headphones. It was lucky he survived, said an eyewitness to the fall.

"He didn't hit a thing on the way down," said Don Vanhook, a vacationing climber from Tennessee, "he screamed a little on the way down then when he landed he didn't move. There was exposed bone on the side of his head; his feet and knees were all twisted around."

"Give up soloing, it'll catch up with you," Vanhook said.

Unlike Vanhook, Mike Alkaitis, general manager of Boulder Rock Club and the Colorado Mountain School, says that soloing is "a very personal thing. People do it for different reasons and that's their choice, but, if you go with a partner and have ropes that's typically safer than soloing."

Alkaitis advises to do a little homework and to research the route before the climb.

Recommended questions to ask yourself are, "Does this climb require special gear?," "Are there commonly accidents on this route?," "If I'm not totally comfortable with my abilities, should I hire a guide to lead it?," Alkaitis said.

Linton, Alkaitis and Jonathan Horne, a qualified member of Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, all agree that "the biggest thing (to ensure your own safety outdoors) is to plan ahead. Know where you're going. Pack lots of food and water. Make sure your cell phone is charged and definitely let somebody else know where you are going and when you expect to be home," Linton said.

Eldorado Canyon is a historic landmark for "traditional and some sport climbing," Alkaitis said. Having climbed in Eldorado Canyon himself, he continued, "That place has a history of tricky protection, you need to know what you're doing."

"Scramblers," as Blooton likes to call wanna-be climbers who simply see a formation and attempt to scale it, have had their fair share of accidents this summer. "There are more injuries of them more than anything," he said.

"There are year-round issues," Linton said. "There are slightly more in the summer because of the weather. There have been a lot of climbing, mountain biking and swimming accidents."

A popular hangout is Jump Rock at the Gross Reservoir above the South Boulder Creek streambed. According to Linton, "We have had accidents in the reservoir because of the water's cold temperatures. A lot of times people jump into the lakes and they think they'll be able to swim across the lake or canal but aren't able to make it . . . they don't know how the cold temperature can affect their body."

Not to mention 20-year-old Colorado Springs resident Amy Scholl, who injured both of her ankles Sunday when she failed to jump far enough out from a 20-foot cliff, earning herself the title of being the first person injured at Jump Rock this year.

Sometimes posting rules and ticketing is not enough to get through to people. The Rocky Mountain Rescue Group received 82 dispatch calls to date this summer.

"People in need call 911 direct with whatever their situation and the dispatch centers phone the appropriate resources to respond to the call," Linton said. In almost every case, RMRG is on the scene.

"We're generally for extricating people from back country or rock faces," Horne said.

On Sunday, a male climber found himself between a rock and a hard place on the face of the Slab formation in Mountain Parks. RMRG was there at the scene to climb to where the man was stuck and used a rope to lower him to safety, Horne said.

Though RMRG was on the scene for yesterday's soloing accident at the Bastille formation, the team did not act because the climber was already accessible to the ambulance as the climber fell directly onto a dirt road.

The RMRG is an all-volunteer operation and its meetings are open to the public. To find out more about the RMRG or to learn more about becoming a qualified member, visit www.rockymountainrescue.org. However, an eager Samaritan should know the training sessions and application process can take anywhere from nine to 12 months, according to Horne.

"Boulder County promotes being in the outdoors," but unlike the stunt doubles and backdrops one can rely on in a movie, "it's really important to remember where you are," Linton said.

Contact Victoria Barbatelli about this story at (303) 443-6272 ext. 113, or at editor@coloradodaily.com.