Hiker injured at Grandfather Mountain’s MacRea Peak rescued

Emergency response workers had to consider the difficult terrain, extraction time and type of injury when extracting a hiker from Grandfather Mountain injured over the weekend.

The final decision was made to bring in specialized North Carolina air teams to help retrieve the hiker located at more than 5800 feet after falling from a ladder at MacRea Peak. Due to the steep terrain, the patient had to be lowered down by rope to eventually walk them out to the landing spot.

The hiker was sent to a trauma unit for treatment. Avery County Emergency Management lauded the additional help from Linville and surrounding personnel in the rescue.

(IMAGE: Property of Avery County Emergency Management / Official Facebook)