A teenager, who rescuers thought might die when they found him after a fall in Snowdonia last year, is supporting a campaign aimed at keeping people safe on the region’s mountains.
Eighteen year old Ben Halley, who was seriously injured after falling whilst climbing the popular North Ridge of Tryfan in Snowdonia, is supporting ‘MountainSafe’ – a joint campaign between North Wales Police, Snowdonia National Park Authority, North Wales Mountain Rescue Association, Plas y Brenin, the British Mountaineering Council and Mountain Leader Training Wales.
Following a record year for visitors and incidents in Snowdonia, the MountainSafe group is urging anyone who is considering heading for the hills over Christmas and New Year to do so safely.
Ben, who lives in the West Midlands, knows only too well that even if you are experienced in the mountains, have all the right kit and have done a particular climb half a dozen times, you can still be caught out.
He said: “I had been up Tryfan at least five times before and I knew it well. I was with my uncle and two of his friends. We were all quite experienced and had the right equipment. I was leading on a scramble, I don’t know exactly what happened, but I think I may have been hit on the head by a falling rock, which then sent me falling. We were 2,750 feet up.
“The people I was with saw me flying past them. I think I fell about 30 feet, landed on a ridge, then fell a further 40 to 50 foot. Where I landed, about six foot to the left there was a 1,000 foot drop. The rescuers thought I might not make it, I would definitely have been dead if I’d landed six foot to the left.”
Although it was April, and Ben’s group had started at first light in good weather, visibility had closed in and the wind had got up to such an extent that the helicopter from RAF Valley could not get to him.
Instead it took six hours for rescuers to carefully lower Ben down the mountain to a point where the helicopter could reach him. Ben was taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor, where he spent two days on a life support machine. His injuries included a fractured skull, bruised kidneys, a lacerated liver, ruptured spleen, four broken ribs and a punctured lung.
Ben said: “I wish to say a personal thank you to the people who rescued me. I have no doubt that they saved my life. I will be on medication for the rest of my life, but I’m alive. There was a point at the hospital, just before I went into theatre, where I felt I should say goodbye to my family, I was frightened that I would die.”
Tim Bird, a North Wales Police representative on MountainSafe, who is also a member of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team, was part of the multi agency team who brought Ben safely off the mountain.
He said: “This was a serious incident. It was very windy and the helicopter couldn’t lift him off until the team could get Ben much further down the mountain. He was seriously injured, Ben and his family are very aware that he is only alive because of the efforts of the Mountain Rescue Team, the RAF and staff at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor.”
2009 has seen an unprecedented rise in the number of call outs to accidents and incidents of people being lost in the mountains.
To the end of November, the number of incidents was up by over 100% on last year. The national data base is 99% up on last year, and the pattern is the same across the UK.
To the same time scale, Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team attended 170 incidents, Ogwen Valley 120 and Aberglaslyn 33.
The main problem appears to be with people going ill equipped; incidents of slips and falls are up and people are setting out too late. Although the number of incidents has increased, the number of fatalities has stayed about the same but this does not include the December figures, which include a fatality on Snowdon last week.
Tim said: “We want people to continue to come and enjoy the beautiful mountains of North Wales, but before they set out they need to ask themselves are they properly clothed and equipped; do they know the weather forecast; have they got the mountain skills needed for the terrain they’re about to tackle?
“This year we have seen more and more incidents of people being hurt, people getting lost, groups starting out late in the day with one torch between them, people getting caught out by the weather and inexperienced walkers without the proper equipment or clothing.”
Supporting MountainSafe is Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones. He said: “We are blessed in Wales with areas of outstanding natural beauty and using our natural outdoors as a green gym is a really good way of keeping fit, but I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to be fully prepared for all weather conditions in the mountains, especially during the winter.
“Weather conditions can change from hour to hour and can make a day out enjoyable and memorable or potentially dangerous. I would urge all visitors to the mountains over the Christmas period to make sure they allow plenty of time when planning a route and to also ensure they are fully prepared for the conditions. That is why the Welsh Assembly Government, working in partnership with the Meteorlogical Office, supports the Mountain Weather Wales service, which provides daily forecasts of the weather conditions in both Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons.”
Also supporting the campaign is Group Captain Jonathan Dixon – RAF Search and Rescue Force Commander. He said: “The RAF SAR Force fully supports the activities promoting mountain safety, and we will continue to provide our services when requested to save lives in North Wales.
“We will also continue to work closely with all the emergency services and look forward to strengthening that relationship through the North Wales Police Mountain Safe initiative.”
Note:
The weather in the mountains is unpredictable. Sudden changes in temperature, wind strength and visibility are always possible and it will always become colder the higher you climb or the stronger the wind blows. Sometimes changes in conditions can happen at an alarming rate. Individuals and groups should check specialist weather forecasts carefully www.mountainweatherwales.org
