The injured climber is brought to the top of the crag. Photo: Aberdyfi SRT

An injured climber was rescued from a north Wales crag in a protracted operation lasting more than six hours.

Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team was alerted shortly after midday on Saturday to the incident on Bird Rock near Tywyn.

A man in his 20s was leading a route from a ledge on Craig yr Aderyn.

A team spokesperson said: “He fell past his partner, a woman in her 20s, for the length of the rope in play, but she managed to hold the fall from her belay position.

“The man sustained multiple cuts to his body during the tumble down steep ground, and also a significant head injury which resulted in a brief loss of consciousness.

“Although bleeding heavily, the pair worked together to return the man to the ledge. With the very weakest of phone signals, the woman managed to raise the alarm, although her message was cut off before full details could be passed on to the police call handler.

“An ex-mountain rescue team member, camping at a site nearby, heard their shouts for help and also managed to pass on brief details over a very poor line to the police.”

Because of the serious nature of the incident, the team requested helicopter support and also asked the neighbouring South Snowdonia Search and Rescue Team to join the operation as many Aberdyfi members were out of the area during the bank holiday weekend.

The Caernarfon Coastguard helicopter flew to the scene, but with the climbers unsecured on a ledge there was concern that, if they attempted to winch the casualty, the aircraft’s powerful downwash could blow them off the crag.

The helicopter crew airlifted rescuers and their equipment to the top of the rockface and the Aberdyfi SRT rope-rescue technicians began rigging a system to bring the pair of climbers up the crag.

The spokesperson said: “This was a difficult process, with a couple of factors slowing efforts to reach the casualty.

“Firstly there was little in the way of natural anchors to secure the system, and it was difficult to find soil deep enough to make use of our steel anchor pins. Secondly, the position of the casualties could not be seen from the top of the crag, so the positioning was being directed by spotters some distance away at the foot of the crag.

The team set up a rope-rescue system. Photo: Aberdyfi SRT

“On the first attempt at lowering, the rescuer got within shouting distance, but could not reach the pair. However, this foray onto the face helped the rope-technicians re-rig in the optimal position, and the pair were reached on the second attempt.

“Having further assessed the injured man while on the ledge, he was assisted up the face using a hauling system. The rescuer then returned down the crag to collect the woman. After further assessment at the crag top, the pair were assisted to the nearby helicopter, and were downlifted, along with team volunteers and equipment.

“The injured man was then flown to hospital for further assessment of his injuries.”

Team member Graham O’Hanlon said: “The man’s climbing partner did a remarkable job, first in holding his fall from a precarious belay position, but then also assisting the man back to a safer position, raising the alarm and stabilising his injuries.”

The incident concluded at 6.40 pm.