If you will be climbing in Muir Valley, we advise you to copy this post and carry it with you. It contains important information on what to do in an emergency in the Valley.
In the event of a personal injury accident in Muir Valley, everyone's primary concern should be to get emergency medical personnel to the accident scene as quickly as possible. A newly built road for emergency vehicles comes off from KY 715 and proceeds down into Muir Valley and along the Smokey Fork Creek, which runs through the valley, linking all the climbing venues.
The FRS channel 5.10 has been designated the emergency channel to be used in the event of an emergency in the Valley. Many of the climbers carry FRS walkie talkies tuned to this frequency to monitor calls.
The local EMS service in Campton, KY would be the primary responder to accidents in the Valley. They are familiar with the emergency road and have been provided with up-to-date maps of Muir Valley with the locations of climbing areas noted.
In the event of an accident:
1. Self rescue is always the best first alternative for climbers who have received minor injuries. If there are signs of back, neck, or head injury or anything that would risk further injury to a victim, do not move them or allow them to move, and proceed to the next step.
2. Do not move the injured person or allow him/her to move themselves. If possible, have someone stay with him/her at all times, preferably (if possible) someone with first aid skills.
3. Keep the injured person warm and as comfortable as possible without moving him/her.
4. Administer first aid only to the limits of your knowledge and training in first aid.
5. If you have an FRS radio, call a Mayday on channel 5, privacy code 10. (5.10). Ask the person answering your call to call Wolfe County EMS at 1-606-668-6800 for medical assistance. FRS radios are often monitored by others down in the valley, but there is no guarantee.
6. If FRS is not a working option, have someone run up to the top rim of the valley to establish cell phone reception and call Wolfe County EMS at 1-606-668-6800 or 911. Calling 911 will require time consuming re-routing of your call, so the local number is better. Cell phone reception in the main parking lot is excellent.
7. Tell the EMS dispatcher that the injured person is in the Muir Valley Nature Preserve. The emergency access road into the valley is located at 2316 KY Highway 715. There is a county road sign for this road labeled “Weber Valley Lane” which is located about 1/2 mile south of the Rogers Elementary School in Rogers. If the dispatcher asks further clarification you can give him GPS coordinates for the intersection of Weber Valley Lane and KY 715, they are: 37°44’33”N; 83°38’34”W.
8. Tell the EMS dispatcher where specifically the injured person is located within Muir Valley. Wolfe County EMS has a map of the Valley to help them find a specific location. For example, you could tell them that you are on the south side of the Rebel Camp Branch Hollow, up the hollow about 200 yards from the main creek.
9. Have another person run north on the emergency road that follows the Valley floor, to meet the ambulance when it arrives, and help direct them to the accident scene.
10. Notify Rick or Liz Weber as soon as possible on either FRS channel 5.10 or by phone at 1-317-402-0123, 1-317-402-0118, or 1-606-668-9066. They have vehicles that, if available, can access the Valley floor quickly from both ends of the Valley.
Rick and Liz Weber