Corie and Lochain. Photo: Angus CC-BY-SA-2.0
A climber is in intensive care after falling 300ft from a Highland mountain.
The 19-year-old was airlifted to hospital after the incident in the Cairngorms yesterday.
Police were alerted about 12.20pm yesterday after the student, originally from the West Midlands but currently studying in Fort William, fell 90m from the Great Slab in Coire an Lochain in Cairn Gorm’s northern corries.
Members of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team went to the man’s aid and he was treated at the scene before being airlifted by helicopter to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
A Northern Constabulary spokesperson said the man suffered head and leg injuries and is currently being treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
The spokesperson added: “His condition is described as stable and his injuries are not thought to be life threatening.”
Richard Worth
13 January 2012please stop calling these incidents falls- a 300 foot fall means a vertical cliff-300 ft of airtime and then hitting something horizontal-like falling off the top of cloggy or rannoch wall. These winter incidents are uncontrolled slides-no doubt with some vertical drops involved, but still essentially slides-i don't know about the particulars of this one-being in corrie an lochain it probably was climbing but often these types of incident are WALKERS not technical ICE CLIMBERS
richard worth
13 January 2012Are yes i just read more-great slab in Corrie lochain-yes its steep, but people ski down it!
Phil
13 January 2012Having suffered a fall which resulted in 7 ( yes seven) operations including plates, bone , muscle and skin grafts and took over 2 years recuperation I can speak with som experience about what a fall is like..
Just for the record I fell , indoors, about 1 metre , feet first onto a padded crashmat.
It isn't the distance its the damage you do !!
AB
13 January 2012Richard.. You weren't there and didn't see the 'fall' but I can assure you, semantics aside.. It was a fall, the lad is very lucky to be alive and any mountain user whether hill walker or climber is affected by gravity equally..
We should all be thankfull that this mountaineering accident ended with as happy ending as possible and maybe not comment on serious incidents that have an effect on peoples lives so scathingly.
I hope my next 'slide' on snow is not as serious..
ad
15 January 2012Richard,
Although I appreciate your view the journalist is correct in his use of language. The dictionary definition of fall is "to drop or descend under the force of gravity, as to a lower place through loss or lack of support."
cas
09 June 2012I think the issue which the original writer may have been trying to highlight, was the fact that these incidents get labelled as 'climbers' 'falling', which makes people think climbing is very dangerous and uses a lot of rescue resources, when actually most are walking accidents with no climbing, or climbers, involved.