After a bold rescue of a fallen climber last fall, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison Search and Rescue (SAR) team was awarded $25,000 this week to support their efforts to help people in an emergency.
The award was announced Tuesday by Rocky Talkie, a backcountry radio company out of Denver, and the American Alpine Club, a nonprofit based in Golden that advocates for climbers.
Rocky Talkie said the Black Canyon of the Gunnison SAR won its Featured Rescue of its 2024 Search and Rescue Award for a daring rescue in September at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, a beacon for adventure climbing in western Colorado with steep, dramatic cliffs that can stretch beyond 2,000 feet.
In a new YouTube video, Rocky Talkie spoke with the woman at the center of the rescue, Becca Steinbrecher, and her climbing partner, Skyeler Congdon.
"Black Canyon of the Gunnison Search & Rescue Team is the 2024 SAR Awards Featured Rescue due to their remarkable skill navigating an incredibly complex situation," the company wrote on YouTube. "When a climber sustained life-threatening injuries on the Great White Wall, the Black Canyon SAR Team raced against time to save her life."
According to the video, Steinbrecher and Congdon arrived at the bottom of the canyon around 6 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023 with a goal to climb the Great White Wall. About an hour later, as Steinbrecher climbed, one of her footholds became loose, Congdon told Rocky Talkie, and she fell 25 to 30 feet to the ledge where Congdon was.
"She wasn't really breathing," he said in the video. "I thought she was dead."
But then he found a pulse.
With nobody around, he made the decision to leave her with a radio to go seek help. He recalled running so hard that he was vomiting, he said in the video.
The National Park Service (NPS) reported that it received a 911 call around 10:30 a.m. about a rock climber who had fallen on the Great White Wall climbing route on the canyon's North Rim. The Black Canyon SAR team and the Western Colorado University SAR team both responded and descended about 1,800 feet down the wall.
Steinbrecher was still unconscious and was lowered to the bottom of the canyon. Around 7:25 p.m., a Colorado Army National Guard helicopter crew flew her out of the canyon as daylight faded, the NPS reported. She was transported to a hospital in Grand Junction for major trauma injuries.
Steinbrecher told Rocky Talkie that she was not lucid for two months, and had a traumatic brain injury and several broken bones. Now, she has a new lease on life, she said in the video.
"SAR is amazing and it's crazy that I survived," she said.
"Qualified competent teams can still get in trouble just because of the inherent risk," Congdon added. "That's when SAR saves the day. There are accidents where you can't self-rescue. I don't know if people realize that these are people who have jobs, who have families."
Rocky Talkies also spoke with the rescue team members, who explained why they stay on the job and the significant marks they make on people's lives.
Hear the full story by Rocky Talkies in the video below.
The Black Canyon SAR team was awarded $25,000 after Rocky Talkie named this incident its featured SAR rescue. SAR will use this grant over two years for "team training, instructional seminars, gear for members, and safety messaging in the park to help prevent future accidents," according to the company.
Rocky Talkie has awarded a total of $75,000 to six volunteer and underfunded SAR teams this year. The company was founded in Denver in 2019 by two adventuring friends who worked for years to create a radio tough enough to withstand the elements in the backcountry. They now sell two types of radios, and for each one sold, Rocky Talkie donates $2 to search and rescue teams.
In May, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 24-1309 — "Use of Aircraft in Search and Rescue Operations" — which reduces the liability risk for helicopter pilots or crew members who volunteer to help during backcountry search and rescue emergencies.
Learn more about the bill in the video below.
