Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team were called to the assistance of climbers last night, for the second time this week.
On Sunday, the team were out all night to assist two London based climbers who became lost in a blizzard on the Cairngorm Plateau.
Last night, the team were called to assist a climber who had fallen on a technical ice climb sustaining a serious fracture to his leg. The climbers were on Alladin’s Mirror Direct. A Grade IV technical ice climb in Coire nt Schneachda.
Cairngorm Team Leader, Willie Anderson, said: “We were contacted around 3pm to assist a climber who had fallen and sustained a leg fracture.
“Initially, we deployed a dozen team members to undertake the technical job of lowering the casualty to the coire floor, and planned to evacuate him by helicopter.”
“Bristow Helicopters did a great job of getting our guys into the coire, despite lowering cloud and snow, but it quickly became apparent that they would not be able to get in to retrieve the casualty due to worsening weather.
“At that point we called out all forty team members, as we knew we were in for a two mile stretcher carry.”
“We were also lucky to have five members of RAF Leeming MRT training in the area, and they came to our assistance as well.”
Willie said that whilst blizzard conditions prevailed throughout the rescue, the snow was not accompanied by storm force winds, “which made for a nice change.”
Willie said that the technical lower was “slick” and quickly concluded, but manhandling the stretcher across the snow covered boulder field was “as brutal as ever”.
He said: “The boulder field is a real challenge, involving heaving and hauling the stretcher whilst slipping and sliding about on snow covered rocks and boulders”.
Willie observed: “None of us relish that bit of the task, particularly as you are trying to make it as smooth as possible for the injured person.
“After all, it’s all about the casualty… but there are some bashes and bruises being nursed by team members too this morning”
Willie confirmed that the injured climber was taken to hospital by a road ambulance and that the five hour rescue concluded around 8pm, which was “pretty quick, all things considered.”
