A 23-year-old Calgary man suffered serious head injuries after falling about 18 metres off a cliff at Banff’s Bow Falls on Friday (May 10).
Jaron Rosso was airlifted from the falls via helicopter long line to a landing zone at the Banff Springs golf course, then taken by ground ambulance to Mineral Springs Hospital and on to Calgary’s Foothills Medical Centre.
His father, Jason Rosso, said his son suffered major trauma in the fall, but is making a recovery.
“He’s actually coming along remarkably,” said Rosso. “He’s going to make it.”
Rosso is looking for two unidentified men, believed to be Russian or Eastern European, whom he said were “really valuable” in helping his son soon after the fall.
“They immediately found him when he had fallen and used their coats and shirts to stop his head from bleeding before the first responders got there,” he said.
“I desperately want to find these guys, and at a minimum thank them, but I also want to replace and buy them new coats because I know that it’s expensive stuff in Banff.
“They were there for my son in a terrible time and I want to shake their hand.”
Jaron, who was hiking with his girlfriend, went off the trail to get a closer look at the falls when the accident occurred.
Banff’s fire department got the call around 7:15 p.m. and was quick to respond.
Deputy fire chief Keri Martens, who was first on scene, said Banff EMS, the fire department’s rescue truck and Parks Canada’s rescue team showed up shortly after.
She said the fire department and EMS personnel were able to stabilize the patient before Parks Canada’s visitor safety specialists flew him out via helicopter long line to the landing zone at the golf course.
Martens said a couple of EMS personnel and fire department members were fitted with personal flotation devices (PFDs) before scaling the bottom of the cliff at the base of the falls.
“We also had a few of our folks stationed along the river with throw bags and PFDs just in case somebody fell in,” she said.
“When Parks Canada visitor safety arrived they went out to the scene and then coordinated with the helicopter to bring the long line in. We made sure that the landing zone was secure out on the golf course.”
Rosso said Jaron suffered two skull fractures, a broken orbital bone on the right side of his face, a few broken ribs, a bad concussion and has scrapes and bruises all over his body.
He said his son required 120 staples across his head and face.
Rosso, who flew from Toronto to be by his son’s hospital bedside, said his son was intubated but remained in ICU for only 24 hours before going to a trauma room.
“He has pretty extensive injuries, but his healing rate is exponentially faster than they could ever have imagined,” he said.
“He’s a competitive powerlifter and he’s a really healthy 23-year-old so that’s obviously helping him quite a bit.”
