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http://www.omniture.com --> Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend May 23, 2006 Robert Linkous, 42, takes a first look at his face in a Providence Medford Medical Center bedside mirror Monday after being rescued from a fall off Lower Table Rock the day before. (Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell) 'I picked too vertical a place to hike' By anita burke Mail Tribune Robert Linkous planned to treat his cousin from Florida to an all-out Oregon adventure vacation with hiking, rafting, maybe even a little late-season skiing. But on their first outing Sunday on Lower Table Rock, Linkous tumbled down a rock face he was climbing, prompting a five-hour rescue effort and a Mercy Flights helicopter evacuation to Providence Medford Medical Center. Now suffering from a broken right ankle, sprained left ankle, dislocated right shoulder and a battered face that surprised even him when he got his first look in a mirror Monday, Linkous won't be able to take his cousin, Tracy Linkous, of Fort Myers, Fla., to the Southern Oregon spots where he loves to hunt and hike. "I just like to get out and hike around," said Robert Linkous, 42. "I picked too vertical a place to hike this time." The two cousins and longtime friend Micah Conaway headed up Lower Table Rock Sunday morning, scrambling up the southeast side of the mesa, away from the main trail. When Tracy Linkous and Conaway stopped for a cigarette, Robert Linkous, who doesn't smoke, kept moving to get upwind of the smokers, he said. Met with a steep rock face, the construction worker, who clambers around work sites as he frames homes for Ashland remodeling contractor D.A. Boldt, started climbing. "I was doing OK with little hand holds until I got near the top, about 15 feet from the top of the cliff," he said. Linkous doesn't remember falling, but does recall sitting up, feeling dazed and thinking he had a great view of the valley from where he landed. Rescuers from Jackson County Fire District No. 3 estimated he dropped about 50 feet straight down, then tumbled another 30 or 40 feet after he landed on the slope. "It could have ended my life," Linkous said. Conaway saw him fall and called 9-1-1 with a cell phone at about 10 a.m. The fire district sent a "special operations group" trained in using ropes to rescue people. The team set up in the parking lot at Lower Table Rock and half of them hiked to the top, district Battalion Chief Greg Winfrey said. A Mercy Flights helicopter ferried the rest of the team to the top. A volunteer with an all-terrain vehicle helped haul gear up the trail, which was closed to hikers during the rescue effort, he said. Linkous has only sketchy memories of waiting for rescuers, but said it didn't feel like he waited long. Crews rappelled down the cliff, strapped him into a litter and pulled it up. "I remember them struggling to get me up," he said. "They had a hard time." Firefighters described the rescue as one of the most strenuous and challenging they'd ever done. They pulled Linkous to the top by 2 p.m. and he was on his way to the hospital by helicopter moments later. Linkous underwent surgery Sunday to piece his smashed ankle back together. He hopes to be released from the hospital within a few days and be back to work within months. "I just feel banged up now," he said. He said he won't be trying anymore free climbing, but he does want to get outdoors again — at least for a drive to Crater Lake — before his cousin heads back to Florida. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] . Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy