A climber fell from a rock near Lover's Leap Wednesday and dangled until the Lake Valley Fire Department's Search and Rescue Unit arrived at the scene.
The climber, Carlos Rico, 38, from Oakland, Calif., fell 40 to 80 feet and suffered a compound fracture to his right ankle, said Lake Valley Assistant Chief Brian Schafer.
Rico was climbing a rock called "Hog's Back," located between Lover's Leap and U.S. Highway 50. Rico's climbing partner, Ryan Quinn, a 21-year-old from Berkeley, Calif., reported the accident around 1 p.m. on a cell phone.
The fire department had the injured climber off the rock face by approximately 3:15 p.m., Schafer said.
The rescue team secured Rico to a stretcher and traversed him on a rope across the American River to safety at the U.S. Forest Service's Strawberry housing tract.
"It saved us a long, difficult hike," Schafer said.
Barton Memorial listed Rico in stable condition Thursday.
