North Carolina climber airlifted after plunging 20 feet down gorge, sustaining serious injuries

A hiker who fell 20 feet in a North Carolina gorge and sustained serious injuries was airlifted out of harm’s way over the weekend.

Emergency crews were called around 2 p.m. Sunday amid reports of a fallen climber along a steep section of Shortoff Mountain in Linville Gorge.

"The lead climber was attempting to place gear approximately 40 feet above the ledge when they took a lead fall of approximately 15–20 feet," Burke Rescue Inc. and SAR posted on its Facebook page, "during which...