Friends & family ask for help after NC man falls 90-feet while mountain climbing
By Kristy Kepley-Steward
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TRYON, North Carolina (WLOS) — A fundraiser has been set up to help a Tryon man who fell nearly 90 feet while mountain climbing last weekend in Tennessee.
On Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, Kevin Junge, an avid climber from Tryon, was kayaking and climbing with friends at the Gee Creek Bluffs in Delano, Tennessee. According to a GoFundMe account that was set up to help with his medical costs, the climbers were moving gear from the bottom of the climb to the top where Junge was setting up ropes for the next section when he fell.
Junge’s friends immediately dialed 911 and were able to climb down to where he had landed to wait for emergency responders.
“When we found him he was laying in a pile of sticks like it was a recliner. Holding up his obviously broken leg, two sticks protruded through his calf. His right arm was also noticeably broken, he was mostly concerned with his back and pelvis areas. We were able to jam a few more sticks in to help support his back until Rescue showed up,” the GoFundMe said.
West Polk County Volunteer Fire and Rescue said they were called out at around 4 p.m. and dispatched 7 teams from 14 agencies to help extricate him. “4 technical rope lowering systems had to be setup to lower him down the steep incline. 6 Chief officers and numerous captains and other officers worked to rescue this victim. At one point there were 49 people involved in the rescue. With another 14 helping support the technical teams,” the agency said on social media.
The extraction process took about five hours before Junge was able to be transported to a safe location to be airlifted to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga.
Junge suffered a broken pelvis, broken vertebrae, broken leg and a fractured arm in the fall.
According to the GoFundMe, Junge has two children and a manual labor job and will be out of work for an extended period of time.
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