SPRINGVILLE - A Utah climber, hanging on a rock, recorded the moment a 300-pound chunk of it suddenly broke off.
"At that moment, I guess you have one second before you hit the ground," said Brian Koralewski, who was injured in the fall.
He said it's not a popular place to climb in Provo, but he's seen other climbers post YouTube videos from there before. So, he thought he'd give it a go.
"In rock climbing, the places we put our hands are in the cracks," Koralewski said.
The video clearly shows a large crack in the rock. Once he gets to the top, it suddenly breaks off. Fortunately, he fell onto a climbing pad he had placed below, but that didn't stop the rock from landing on top of his leg.
"The main injury was a laceration where I could see the tendon," Koralewski said.
He also had a broken fibula. Yet he still walked, and at times crawled, a quarter of a mile to his car to drive for help. After weeks on crutches, he wanted to go back with friends to take a closer look at the rock.
"One of the guys with me said he could deadlift 300 pounds," Koralewski said. "He had a tough time lifting it up. So, I'm guessing it was around 250 or 300 pounds."
Fortunately, he's made a full recovery. Now, he and his kids can enjoy a little YouTube fame after his video just recently went viral.
"They wish Dad had gotten famous a different way," he jokes.
