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Glacier Hiker Hurt After Fall from 30-Foot Cliff

By Beacon Staff

WEST GLACIER – A hiker was airlifted to a hospital after falling from a 30-foot cliff in Glacier National Park.

Park spokeswoman Ellen Blickhan says four employees from the Lake McDonald Lodge had summited 7,750-foot Mount Stanton Tuesday evening and were descending when the accident happened.

Blickhan says the group was glissading across a snowfield — a mountain-climbing technique in which a climber intentionally slides down a slope — when the man was unable to stop himself with an ice axe.

He fell over a 30-foot cliff and slid an additional 80 feet. He was transported by helicopter to Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

Blickhan says she does not yet know the extent of the man’s injuries or whether they were life threatening. She said Wednesday his identity has not been confirmed.