BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON, Colorado – Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a very cool and underrated national park, but it’s tight walls can make rescues incredibly tedious when the become necessary. Fortunately the park has an award winning, mostly volunteer search and rescue team. So when Becca Steinbrecher took a life threatening fall on the Great White Wall climbing route, the Black Canyon SAR team snapped into action.
Much of the climbing in Black Canyon of the Gunnison means descending well over a thousand feet into the feature, committing to climbing back up. The park highlights that this is an expert climbing area, with vertical walls as high as 2,250 ft (the Painted Wall). Of the 145 routes inside the canyon, only eight are rated 5.8, and none are rated below. In other words, it’s very serious, expert only climbing.
When Becca Steinbrecher took a 25-30 foot fall on the Great White Wall after losing a foot hold on a mantel, her climbing partner, Skyeler, knew pretty much immediately that the situation was dire. Knowing that he had no way to call for help inside the park, Skyeler left an unconscious Becca behind with a radio and rushed out of the park to call for help. Two hours had passed between the incident and when Black Canyon SAR were alerted.
Search & Rescue wasn’t able to reach Becca until 6 hours after the incident occurred, but she was still alive, and she was still breathing, so Black Canyon SAR snapped into action to get her out. With an incredible crew of 39 volunteers, Black Canyon SAR was able to save Becca’s life. Rocky Talkie featured them as the 2024 SAR Awards Featured Rescue in response to this success.