Praise for climber after friend’s fall on mountain
Pal trekked for two hours to raise alarm and get help for injured man
Published:
A climber who walked for two hours to get help for his badly-injured friend who had survived a fall on a Wester Ross mountain was praised by rescuers yesterday.
Richard Walsh, 45, and Chris Wilson were just 50ft from the top of Marathon Buttress on Beinn Lair on Tuesday when Mr Wilson, who was in the lead, slipped and fell, plummeting past his companion.
He tumbled down the rocky slope, breaking several bones, but luckily his fall was halted by his ropes.
Despite his injuries Mr Wilson managed to inch his way back up to the more secure ledge that Mr Walsh was tied to.
The men spent the night on the 2,821ft mountain and in the morning Mr Walsh climbed to the top of the peak and walked to Letterewe, where he alerted rescuers.
Stornoway Coastguard helicopter airlifted Mr Wilson, 47, of Bolton, to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness yesterday morning.
Speaking after visiting his friend in hospital, Mr Walsh said his companion had several fractures to his leg and ribs.
He added that the experience had not put either of them off climbing.
The incident happened on the first day of their three-day break.
Mr Walsh, a building surveyor from Durham, and who has a sister who lives on Skye, said: “We nearly got to the top. We probably had 50ft of technical rock climbing to go. Chris’s foot slipped.
“He fell and tumbled down for some distance. But his equipment held and so did mine.”
Mr Walsh said: “He was white as a sheet and in considerable pain but fairly lucid, surprisingly.”
Despite his injuries, Mr Wilson was able to climb up to a sloped ledge where his companion was.
“It was a slow laborious process on account of his injuries. By the time I made him safe it was dark and we decided to wait until morning. We had the equipment to do that.”
As soon as it was light Mr Walsh climbed to the top of the peak and, after failing to get a mobile phone signal, walked for two hours to Letterewe, where he found a family home and contacted the police at around 8.20am yesterday.
Members of Dundonnell and Torridon mountain rescue teams were called out but it was decided to airlift Mr Wilson off the mountain.
Mr Walsh said he planned to return to Wester Ross to retrieve their gear near the top of the mountain.
Mick Holmes, the leader of Dundonnell Mountain Rescue Team, said: “After the fall, his friend tied him off and got him safe. Then he did the right thing by not coming down in the dark. In the morning he came over the hill and raised the alarm.”
Readers' Comments