Technical and Medical Challenges in the Mountain Rescue of a Fatally Injured BASE Jumper: A Case Report

BASE jumping accidents at Kjerag, a 984-m vertical cliff in Norway, occur on an annual basis and can necessitate complex rescue operations involving coordinated efforts between helicopters and alpine rescue teams. Each operation poses distinct logistical, technical, and medical challenges. This case report aims to contribute to collective learning and continuous quality improvement in the management of such high-risk rescue missions. In the spring of 2025, a wingsuit BASE jumper sustained multiple impacts against the cliff face and was stranded two thirds of the way down the wall, suspended by the deployed parachute. A multiagency operation was initiated involving 2 helicopters and a volunteer alpine rescue team. Direct helicopter extraction was deemed unsafe due to the risk of rotor downwash causing unintentional reinflation of the parachute. The rescue operation was conducted through coordinated efforts between helicopter units and an alpine rescue team. Rescue climbers were inserted above the patient and were lowered 220 m to access the site. Twenty minutes after the rescuers arrived on scene, the patient went into cardiac arrest due to bleeding and hypovolemic shock, ∼3 h and 40 min after the accident occurred. This case represents the fastest documented alpine rescue at Kjerag to date and emphasizes that time remained the critical factor that could have altered the patient`s outcome. Potential areas for improvement include the implementation of longer and thinner ropes, optimized helicopter rescue methods such as an extended hoist with a rescuer, and on-scene blood transfusion with hemorrhage control in time-critical patients.