Keith Valencourt, 30, remained at Mission Hospital in Asheville today where he was listed in good condition. Doctors placed Valencourt in a regular hospital room, and he was receiving physical therapy this morning.

Vince Stone, chief of the Brevard Rescue Squad, said anchors to Valencourt’s rope system apparently gave way, leading to his fall down the face of the popular rock climbing and rappelling spot. But the rope system caught Valencourt just feet above the ground, possibly preventing more serious injuries, Stone added.

“He was lucky,” Stone said.

Valencourt may have hit the side of the mountain several times during his fall, Stone said.

Rescue personnel carried Valencourt out of the location in a basket. The walk over the rough terrain took 45 minutes. Rescuers loaded him into an ambulance, which took him to a nearby fish hatchery, where a helicopter airlifted him to Mission Hospital.

Stone said Valencourt, first reported knocked out, seemed to be semi-conscious in the ambulance. Someone saw Valencourt’s fall, hiked to the road, caught a ride to the fish hatchery and called rescue personnel from there.

Stone did not know whether the other climber had been with Valencourt. Stone said the call for help came at 4:07 p.m. Saturday. At the scene, rescue workers placed one of Valencourt’s injured legs in a splint. Stone said Valencourt already was on the ground when he arrived.

A Special Forces team from Fort Bragg had two weeks of training on Looking Glass Rock just four days earlier, Stone noted. The rock offers various skill levels for rappelling and climbing. Enthusiasts who rappel enter from the north face and take a four-hour hike to the west face, the side Valencourt was on.

Since Valencourt was climbing, however, rescuers think he entered via the same path that rescue workers used to carry him out. The sheer face of the rock measures about 650 feet, Stone said.

Brevard is the county seat of Transylvania County in western North Carolina. Looking Glass Rock is part of Pisgah National Forest. Valencourt works for the city of Salisbury.