A teen was rescued in the Jumping Pound area on Friday evening after a cliff jumping incident left the youth with a broken leg and stranded at the base of the embankment. "Local staff stabilized the patient on scene and KCPS and Alpine helicopters assisted in transporting the patient," said the Kananaskis Country Public Safety Section online. Erik Laerz, a resident within the Jumping pound, area and whose property overlooks the creek. He received a thread of emails from his neighbours who were concerned over trespassing issues to access the creek. “Ten feet on either side is crown land, so there’s a technical question about precisely who might face liability on that,” Laerz said, though adding it’s more of a general concern for the public. “The last thing we want to do is encourage people to feel they can get on to crown land and (start) jumping off the cliff ... I haven’t personally seen it, but it has been going on for a very long time.” “The most concerning thing is that we don’t want anyone to get hurt. We want kids living long enough that they can become responsible adults and make better decisions, that’s our prime concern.” Laerz said he is hoping the town and county will implement new signage for the area to caution potential cliff jumpers away from the area. “There used to be signage along the perimeter of our property which apparently the town of Cochrane removed one or two years ago which is unfortunate,” he said. “The signs were posted jointly by us and the nature conservancy advising people this is a sensitive ecological area and it’s not open to the public. Unfortunately, those signs are not there today.” Laurie Drukier, a spokesperson for the town of Cochrane said the signs were removed in 2016 but were reinstalled on Toki lands that same week by the homeowners association. Matt Dykstra, a spokesperson for Alberta Parks, said cliff jumping is strongly discouraged by the province. “This activity is dangerous as it can result in drowning or severe injury from impact below the water surface. We encourage all Albertans to show caution and refrain from participating in this type of activity,” he said. Within that same week, KCPS also responded to multiple calls alongside local emergency responders. "Busy times have already started with Public Safety staff responding to 15 different calls over the past week," read the post. The calls ranged from water accidents, traumatic injuries on trails to hikers stranded on cliffs.
