A Calgary man who was rescued following an 18-metre — or six-storeys — fall off a ledge at Banff’s Bow Falls is recovering “remarkably,” according to his father.
Twenty-three-year-old Jaron Rosso was hiking with his girlfriend on Friday, when he reportedly veered off the trail and got “turned around”.
“He thought he was taking a short cut and ended up in a spot he shouldn’t have been in,” dad Jason Rosso told Global News. “I think his footing gave away and he just slipped.”
“He’s not a risk-taker — ever.”
Jaron was airlifted from the falls via helicopter long line and eventually transported to hospital in Calgary.
His father, who lives in Toronto, flew to Calgary as soon as he got the call. He said he was shocked to find his son in the state he was in.
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“He had an insanely bad gash across his head, to the tune of 50 or 60 staples from the front of his head to the back of his head,” Rosso described. “He’s got some skull fractures that are non-operable that will sort of heal on their own, broken orbital bones, three broken ribs and a really bad concussion.
“The doctors are saying this could have been a death fall.”
Rosso said despite those very serious injuries, his son has shown remarkable strength — just days after the fall.
“He’s up and walking around. Talking. Eating,” he said incredulously. “The doctors are pretty surprised how quickly he’s progressing.”
Now that his son is on the mend, the elder Rosso is busy tracking down the “heroes” who he said got him there.
He’s already thanked the paramedics and other emergency crews who he called “remarkable,” but he’s still looking for a couple of “Good Samaritans” who stayed with Jaron until the rescuers showed up on scene.
“They very kindly donated their coat (to cover Jaron) and shirt that got fully covered in blood,” he said. “The fact that somebody stepped out of their way, they could have just videotaped it and walked away, but they went and helped,” he pointed out.
“I’d like to find that guy and shake his hand.”
“We live in a crazy world and when people do things outside of the normal helping others, you really need to recognize that.”
Jason Rosso recognizes his son probably wouldn’t have fared as well if he wasn’t in great shape but he’s grateful his son is a competitive power builder and active young guy.
Jaron Rosso is expected to be released from hospital in the next few days and will likely be going back to Ontario with his parents to fully heal.