BOISE, Idaho — A four-time Buhl High School wrestling state champion is hospitalized after a hiking accident in the White Cloud Mountains.
Kade Orr, his father and his wrestling buddy, Tayten Gillette, took a hiking trip in an area they have been to multiple times, but things took a very dangerous turn this time around.
"Well, we went down something new," Orr said. "We never went down the way that we did."
The three were on their way back down on the White Cloud Mountain range near Stanley when a tumbling boulder hit Orr in the back, sending him down the mountain.
"Instantly, I knew I was not okay after that hit," Orr said. "I can't even compare it to being hit by something harder."
Orr was separated from his friend, but fortunately Gillette was able to get to him before he fell of a ledge with an 8-foot drop.
"He ran all across the rocks down a very steep slope and just dove headfirst, barely caught my foot and slid," Orr said. "It's just something like out of the movie, hanging over a ledge. It couldn't be more movie-like."
Orr's father, Kyle Orr, was behind his son and Gillette when it all happened.
"I was directly on top of them and any movement I made was sending rocks down. So, I was helpless," Kyle Orr said. "My son down below me and it's just a terrible feeling."
Gillette was able to call 911 and a helicopter flew Kade Orr to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, where he learned his injuries included a broken shoulder, scapula and ribs.
The four-time champion on the mat said wrestling is the reason he and his friend are still alive.
"I think the character that [Gillette] built through wrestling saved my life because, you know, he wasn't thinking of himself and it's tough," Kade Orr said. "He just grabbed me, grit his teeth and took a beating from rocks and he was in a completely safe spot. He had no need to go save me, but he did and I'm very thankful for that."
Kade Orr said it will take several months to recover from his injuries, but know it could have been so much worse.
"I'm happy to deal with whatever I have to deal with this. I mean, I can still walk, I can still do everything and lucky to have that really," he said. "So, I'm okay with however long it takes."
A GoFundMe page has been created for Kade Orr and his family to help with medical costs and any other expenses they may have.
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