Chittenango Falls - Madison County

[Matt]

Discuss Chittenango Falls and the surrounding area here.

[Brenda]

I just heard on the noon news that a 14 year old girl fell here late this morning. They still hadn't gotten her out (2 hours later) at news time. They were having difficulty with radio communications because of the gorge, so there was no word on her condition. A helicopter was standing by.

[Brenda]

Town of Fenner, Madison County (WSYR-TV) - A 14-year-old girl, believed to be with the Chittenango School District, on a field trip at Chittenango Falls fell approximately 35 feet off a trail and landed somewhere in the gorge late Wednesday morning.
Rescue crews were able to reach the 14-year-old Nicole Panebianco around 12:15pm. She was flown to University hospital with facial cuts and a wrist injury

It appears the teenager slipped and fell.

[Matt]

Hope she ends up OK.
I wonder if this was on the step or on that trail they keep closing on the other side.

[Matt]

This news site actually links to us! Cool! That's excactly what I was hoping sites would start doing when mentioning these places.
http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S= ... =menu133_2

[champy1013]

pretty sweet. Good ole' Channel 3 news!

[Brenda]

Awesome!

[michael_shake]

Sorry to hear about the fall, but glad to see the site is linked in the story,that is very cool Matt and well deserved, this is the best NY falls site out there!

That trail leading up the other side was still closed when I was there on June 4th and 5th. Didnt look like it would be open any time soon ether. Sounds like she fell from the upper viewing area where the chain link fence is.

By the way, Chittenango Falls is one of the pretiest waterfalls I have seen. It helped that I was there under ideal photographic conditions and that the wild flowers where in bloom to. This IS a must see waterfall in NY.

[backpacker]

Visited today

This one is upstream of the main falls



No explanation needed for this one.



The Falls

[cbobcat49]

I think that first photo is beautiful.

[backpacker]

Thanks
you can see part of it in the top right corner of the 2nd picture

[Matt]

Really? I was there Saturday too. got soaked!

[backpacker]

Matt
bid you take any pictures in the rain?

I was here Sunday afternoon late.

[Matt]

We were there around 2 I think. I thought our umbrella could handle the downpour but it was too much. I ended up drying me an my equipment in the restroom hand dryer.

[Winnie]

Got out to shot some photos yesterday and Chittenango Falls is where I landed. Here are some of the shots I came home with. The water flow was amazing. I love this set of falls all year long, but Winter is totally amazing. I could not get a full view however ... but it is still great and totally worth the trip.

[Matt]

was the trail to the bottom closed?

[Winnie]

Sure was, but I saw it from the road and it was beautiful. There was a lot of ice just to see what I did, So I did not dare venture too far. It's worth the view ... even in freezing temps.

[Mark J]

Matt, nice pics. Chit Falls is a mandatory first stop for me when approaching the central NY falls region from the east. This is a stupendous falls that is not diminshed in the least by being close to major roads. Love that shaded microclimate as you head down the trail from the developed side of the park (trail closed in winter). Also a great place for a pit stop or a picnic due to nice state facilities. The state does charge admission in season. Chit Falls is minutes from the NYS Thruway (I-90) as well as the village of Cazenovia. A future stop for me in the area is the Wizard of Oz (Frank Baum) Museum in Cazenovia. Rainbows and waterfalls go hand in hand!

[Winnie]

I still have to visit in the spring time ... than I will have seen them in all seasons. The Winter season has been the best in my eyes so far. Weather pemitting I want to take a trip to high falls and that area in a couple of weeks. The last time I went to rochester ... got really lost ... No GPS

[Matt]

Chittenango school district sued over 35-foot fall

Chittenango, N.Y. - The Chittenango school district is being sued by the family of a teen who fell 35 feet during a field trip to Chittenango Falls State Park.

The parents of Nicole Panebianco accuse the school district of inadequately supervising the middle school outing on June 20. District employees "allowed students to wander and roam in the park with no adult supervision whatsoever," according to the suit, filed this month in Madison County by James Panebianco Jr. and Catherine Panebianco.

At the time of the fall, however, Assistant Superintendent Bill Moth told The Post-Standard that two teachers were with Panebianco and a group of other students when she slipped. He said then that 12 adults had accompanied 90 students on the trip.

Panebianco, then 14, fell about 35 feet and landed on an 8-foot-wide ledge in the gorge, rescue crews said at the time. She was taken by helicopter to University Hospital, where she was treated and released.

The suit does not seek a certain amount of money, but asks a jury to decide on a fair award. School board President Peter Belyea said he could not comment on litigation.

http://blog.syracuse.com/news/2008/02/c ... ct_su.html