Man In Fair Condition After Fall At Glacier

A New York man was in fair condition Saturday evening after undergoing surgery for a fractured skull and fractured and dislocated hip suffered in a fall in Glacier National Park.

Erik Josef Von Ranson, 32, of Manhattan, was hiking with his fiancee and another couple just before noon Friday when he stopped to filter water from a stream. He slipped and fell 40 feet down a waterfall, losing consciousness for a time.

A rescue helicopter arrived after 6 p.m. and lowered a rescuer on a 60-foot line. The helicopter took Von Ranson and his rescuer, both hanging from the line, to a nearby meadow, where a helicopter from Kalispell Regional Medical Center flew Von Ranson to the hospital several hours later.