EMT Ran 1.5 Miles up 1,000 Feet of Elevation in 31 Minutes to Get Blood Transfusion for Injured Climber

Will Soper received word over the radio that the injured climber needed blood right away. He turned around on the trail and made his way back down to his vehicle at the trailhead. There he loaded several bags of blood into a cooler packed with extra ice and secured everything for the return trip up the mountain. The area around Shortoff Mountain is known for being remote and difficult to reach, which added to the urgency of the situation. Jacob Gregory had been leading a climb with his son when the fall of twenty feet occurred on North Carolina's Shortoff Mountain. The son immediately contacted emergency services, and multiple agencies responded to the call for help. Soper had been conducting a training session two hours from the location but headed straight to the mountain once he learned of the incident. He knew that every available rescuer would be needed given the challenging conditions. Carrying the cooler in his backpack, Soper covered the distance of one and a half miles while gaining one thousand feet in elevation. He maintained a steady fast hiking or jogging pace without stopping for breaks and reached the rescue team in thirty minutes. The blood allowed the responders to begin stabilizing Gregory at the site. Once he was in better condition, he was taken to Atrium Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte for further care. More than twenty agencies took part in the overall effort to bring Gregory to safety. His family later posted thanks on a GoFundMe page for the life-saving actions of everyone involved. Soper, who is twenty-eight and has experience with rock and ice climbing, suggested that anyone interested should reach out to their local search and rescue teams to get involved.