Ben Nevis climber 'would not have survived' had it not been for Royal and Dutch marines
Royal and Dutch marines broke off from their mountain training exercise to help save the life of a climber who had abandoned his ascent of Ben Nevis.
Although the incident was late last week, more details have emerged as to the rescue of the lone mountaineer, who was found curled up in the snow near the summit, as a fierce blizzard raged and temperatures dropped below freezing.
Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain, sees dozens of people get into difficulty each year due to rapidly changing and severe winter conditions and a lack of suitable equipment.
Entering hypothermia
The climbing party – a mix of Royal Marine reservists (RMR) and their counterparts from the Dutch Korps Mariniers – had been conducting mountain training on the 1,345m-high mountain.
Colour Sergeant McKenzie, part of the rescue party, described the harrowing conditions in which they found the mountaineer.
"Solid blocks of ice clung to his eyebrows, hat, and gloves – evidence of long exposure to freezing conditions," he said.
"One walking pole was bent; the other appeared broken or fully collapsed. When spoken to, he revealed that he had become separated from his two friends and had no idea where they were."
He added the winds were "biting and relentless" and estimated the gusts to be around 40mph.
"Combined with the summit temperature, this put the wind chill somewhere in the region of -15°C to -20°C, making any exposed skin sting almost instantly."
Without crampons, the climber could not find his footing on the icy slope, which slowed efforts to get him safely off the mountain.
"To speed things up, one of the Dutch lads took his arm to steady him, but his condition continued to deteriorate," CSgt McKenzie explained.
"A second Dutch Marine moved to his other side so the pair could support him fully. This improved his stability, but the awkward spacing led to several crampons being knocked loose, forcing multiple short halts to resecure them."
He added: "During the final stop to fix a crampon, his deterioration became unmistakable. His posture sagged, his coordination faltered, and his responses slowed. Then he said he couldn’t bend his leg, a clear sign that cold, exhaustion, and exposure were now affecting his physical functions.
"He was entering hypothermia, and it was obvious he would not be walking in the immediate future."
Training exercise turns to rescue
Using a waterproof bivvy sack, ropes, a mat and a thick jacket – all standard emergency equipment taken for these exercises – the marines improvised a stretcher to haul the casualty down the mountain.
"If we hadn't seen him, he certainly would not have survived," said Sgt Onno Lankhaar, section commander for the Dutch Marines, who were in Scotland for Exercise Highland Warrior, a mountain training package with RMR Scotland.
Once the group reached the snowline, the climber felt well enough to walk independently and was handed over to emergency services as a precaution. His two friends had already made their way safely down the mountain.
CSgt McKenzie said it was a privilege to be invited by the Dutch to join them on their "bucket-list" climb of Ben Nevis, and a pleasure to work alongside them throughout the day.
"The skills, drills and preparation they reinforced during the week directly enabled us to deal with the situation confidently and safely when it mattered," he said.
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