Climber seriously injured after plummeting 300ft

A SERIOUSLY injured climber was airlifted to hospital yesterday after plummeting about 300ft in the Cairngorms.

The man fell while tackling a climb known as the Great Slab in the Coire an Lochain area with another person.

The accident was witnessed by two instructors from the national outdoor centre at Glenmore Lodge, near Aviemore, who were on the hill with clients at the time.

The instructors alerted the centre which raised the alarm, and police and an RAF rescue helicopter were scrambled to the scene. They also managed to reach the casualty to administer first aid while waiting for the rescuers.

The accident happened about 12:20pm and the helicopter was on the scene by about 1:05pm. After being treated on the ground for about 40 minutes the climber was then airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with a suspected head injury.

John Armstrong, a spokesman for Glenmore Lodge, said: “Conditions on the hill at the moment are particularly lean in that there is very little snow and ice covering the ground and, therefore, the fall was on to rocks rather than snow.

“But I hope that the speed of response could only have contributed to a positive outcome.

With high pressure building over the next few days and the potential for good weather slips and stumbles on the mountains will be very unforgiving.”