Man hurt in 80-foot fall

A 21-year-old Raleigh man was in critical condition at Baptist Hospital yesterday after falling 80 feet off Pilot Mountain.

Joel McSwaim was rock climbing when he leaned back to check some safety equipment and fell, according to a dispatcher for the Surry County Sheriff's Department.

Rescue workers responded to the call shortly after 2 p.m. and had gotten McSwaim out of the park by 3:30 p.m. He was airlifted to Baptist Hospital.

Yesterday's incident marked the second time in a month that a climber has been injured in a fall at the park.