Into the wild and on to the table: A Western Trauma Association multicenter analysis and comparison of wilderness falls in rock climbers and nonclimbers.

Background: Wilderness activities expose outdoor enthusiasts to austere environments with injury potential, including falls from height. The majority of published data on falls while climbing or hiking are from emergency departments. We sought to more accurately describe the injury pattern of wilderness falls that lead to serious injury requiring trauma center evaluation and to further distinguish climbing as a unique pattern of injury.