Rescue crews from the Vail Fire Department, Eagle County Sheriff's Office, and Vail Mountain Rescue responded to an emergency call at 1:14 p.m., of a report that a climber had fallen at least 100' off an east Vail ice climb and was seriously injured. 

It apparently took these rescue teams approx. 45 minutes to snowmobile and hike to the base of the route The Fang, where the climber Matt Miller had fallen.  These rescue crews with the assistance of Matt's partners, took another 45 minutes to transport him via sled to the trailhead.

The Fang is situated in the Vail ice-climbing area known as The Amphitheater, and the Fang had only recently formed enough that it was being considered 'leadable'.  Above freezing air temperatures and ample water still flowing down this pillar  apparently made it unstable as all it took was the weight of Miller on lead to bring down the majority of this massive pillar of ice.

A member of the  of the Eagle County Ambulance District who was involved in the rescue, said that the ice did not crush Miller, but that “he is hurt.” Denise Triba, spokeswoman for the Vail Valley Medical Center, said Miller was in serious condition at the Vail Valley Medical Center.

Matt was climbing with two friends on this day that saw temperatures in Vail reach the mid-30's.  At least four other climbers in the area helped with the emergency response and luckily, one of them was an EMT. 

More information on this ongoing story can be found on Mountain Project here and in the Vail Daily here.

Our best wishes for a full recovery go out to Matt.

Dale Remsberg works out the moves on Godzilla while a climber ascends the Rigid Designator at the other end of the Amphitheatre in Vail, CO.  The Fang is the icicle that comes down close to Dale in this photo, far from being connected to the ground on this January 2006 afternoon.

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