Fall Leaves Hiker In Serious Condition

Sat., July 29, 2000

From Staff

A member of a senior citizens group that has hiked Glacier National Park every Thursday for years was in serious condition Friday after a fall.

A helicopter carried rescuers to the site, and another brought Ed Prach, 75, of Whitefish, Mont., out of the rugged country south of Logan Pass to a Kalispell hospital.

Prach was descending a small cliff on the northeast face of Mount Reynolds when he fell about 20 feet, then bounced onto a snow field and slid another 100 feet.

Two other group members went to the Logan Pass visitor center for help. During a rescue that took several hours, park rangers moved him to a spot where a helicopter could pick him up.

A Kalispell Regional Medical Center spokesman said Prach suffered multiple fractures of both legs, along with cuts, bruises and possible internal injuries.

The adventures of the hiking group were chronicled in the book, “Glacier’s Secrets: Beyond the Roads and Above the Clouds,” by group member George Ostrom.

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Fall Leaves Hiker In Serious Condition

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

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