River Barry

A 39-year-old BASE jumper hung by his parachute 70 feet above the ground on Nov. 26, 2022 in Moab, Utah. He had jumped from the top of the 400-foot cliff, but his parachute deployed in the wrong direction, slammed him into the cliff face, and then got caught on an outcropping, leaving him badly injured and dangling. Thirty-year-old River Barry, who was in the area to go mountain biking, was flagged down by the man’s friend asking if anyone had climbing gear. Barry, a mental health therapist of Millcreek, Utah, went to the scene and used her own climbing gear and recreational experience to ascend a crack that ran up the side of the cliff directly below the injured man. No one had climbed the crack before and locals referred to the sandstone on the cliff as “slick rock” for its slippery conditions. With the help of the man’s friend belaying her from the ground, Barry climbed to a point above the man and clipped her harness to his. She cut away his parachute and descended to the ground, bearing the man’s weight, to waiting rescuers. The man suffered a compound fracture of his leg and underwent extensive physical therapy. Barry was not injured.