Skiing the ridge above the Barranco de San Juan

Sources to the 112 Emergency Service in Andalucia said they received several calls from individuals around 13.30 hours on Sunday warning of the avalanche. The Guardia Civil Mountain Rescue and Intervention (Sereim) mobilized emergency helicopter and rescue dogs to help find the man. It is not clear if there might be more people under the snow.

We have been warning of the dangers after the last substantial snowfall and much care is required, although our guides reported yesterday from Mulhacen that consolidation of the snowpack on certain slopes has begun.

cerro de los machos (right)

The 41 year old man was rescued yesterday in a serious condition by a Guardia Civil helicopter after falling from a height of about two hundred meters while practicing alpine climbing on Cerro de los Machos to the east of Veleta.

Due to difficult access on the west side of the Hoya de la Mora (the ski side) the recovery lasted for about three hours and involved much equipment and human resources, reported the Service Mountain Rescue and Intervention (Sereim) of the Guardia Civil de Granada.

The first warning came at 13.20 pm by a fellow climber who said the injured climber had been isolated after falling while climbing. Once rescued, the wounded man was taken to the Trauma Hospital of Granada where he is being treated for his injuries.

The alert came when a fellow mountaineer who watched how he fell and slid down 50 meters to his death.  The Sereim team were able to reach the man on snowploughs as the weather prevented helicopter use.  The whole rescue took over 8 hours to get the mans body to the Hoya de la Mora road, where a car was waiting to transfer the deceased to the Anatomical Forensic Institute in Granada, where he is waiting to be autopsied.

According to Efe, the man was a very experienced mountaineers in the Sierra Nevada, and he was fully trained. This just shows how dangerous these mountains can be. With the recent bad weather and snow conditions a little rough,  we urge everyone planning a trip into the high mountains to do so with the up most care.

The group consisted of three people trapped around noon on Saturday in a rugged and inaccessible ravine.

The three mountaineers had moved up a ravine to escape rising waters in the river. One fell, dislocating a shoulder, so he could not follow. They lost communication with each other. Even with a dislocated shoulder, the climber asked for help which launched the Civil Guard operation to locate the other two climbers.

The rescue had to be stopped on Saturday after nightfall because of the rugged terrain and bad weather. This morning, the helicopter located the two hikers, who were at different heights in the ravine, coming to their rescue.

The Paso de los Machos in the winter is a notorious blackspot for avalanches. After the mega snowfalls of last winter hard packed snow still remains. This can be very hard and ice in the mornings. A fall here can be very dangerous as the recent spate of accidents has shown. Great care required (take crampons!).

The photo below shows mountain bikers crossing the trail carrying bikes. What is not shown is the steep drop below the trail which ends in a rock field.

Crossing the Paso de los Machos mid-August

More info in spanish at
[www.laopiniondegranada.es]
[www.ideal.es]

The rescue services began their search, but bad weather, with blizzard conditions, snow and poor visibility forced them to take shelter in the Poqueira Refugio and continue when weather improves.

Those who know the Sierra Nevada know that to access Mulhacen from Pradollano in full winter conditions involves much traversing over difficult terrain. It is believed that the lost mountaineer will have probably had difficulties between the Paso de los Machos and the refugio de Caldera, where the route crosses steep avalanche prone terrain and icy slopes. The normal, safer route to Mulhacen in winter is generally from the south via Capileira.

It is now Tuesday. Let us hope that he has found his way back to safety, or that the rescuers find him in time!

Of course, there is a “critical point” of steepness where the result of a fall could be disastrous. Up to that point the fall will be more and more difficult to arrest. After that almost imposible, and therefore additional safeguards and belays should be taken.

Also you have to have confidence in those on the rope with you. Will they do their job? Have they sufficient training? Can you rely on them?

As part of our own winter skills and mountaineering courses we get to practice and train for these eventualities most weeks in the winter. For those of you not fortunate to live with the mountains of the Sierra Nevada as your back garden then it may be more difficult.

Former Olympic Snowboarding champion Karine Ruby was tragically killed in a climbing accident Friday. Ruby, a 31 year-old French citizen, was climbing on Europe’s famed Mont Blanc as part of her training to become a mountain guide. As is common in dangerous high-alpine environments, Ruby and the other members of her group were roped together for safety (the thought being that if one climber slips and falls, the others will be able to stop the slide); unfortunately, the fatal slide was unable to be stopped, resulting in Ruby and several others falling into a deep crevasse, or crack, in the glacier.

A 38 year-old man from Paris was also killed in the accident, while a 27 year-old climber was seriously injured, requiring a helicopter to transport him off the mountain for medical attention.

Karine Ruby won the gold medal in giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, and also took home a silver medal in parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

Source: About.com

He was transferred to the Traumatology Hospital of Granada after losing consciousness and in a state of shock.

There are no details yet of where the accident happened, though it is likely to be on the steep ground near the Verada Cortada (photo below) where a chain assists progress across a short narrow gully. There are also come steep icy snow patches remaining in this area. I should stress that the above is just an assumption and has yet to be confirmed.

Health services warned that the man was in an area of difficult access, on an abrupt and steep slope and had injuries of the skull, so it was necessary to rescue the injured by use of firefighters and the mountain service of the Guardia Civil (Sereim).

The rescue team used ropes which subsequently allowed the ambulance team to lower a stretcher and haul the man out who was airlifter to hospital.

The man, from Roguac (France), was transferred by helicopter to the Granada Trauma unit in serious condition with a fracture at the base of the skull, siad the mountain rescue.

At this moment the man is in a coma and incubated in the ICU of the hospital Trauma unit.

Source: Alpujarra Today

Last week we went up the west flank of Mulhacen. The snow was hard and icy in places so we were suitably equipped with crampons and ice axes. The west flank is not strictly “mountaineering” terrain but is reasonably steep and a fall could well result in a fall and resulting slide.

Indeed a few weeks ago a spaniard fell here breaking his leg. See http://www.sierra-nevada-news.comjavascript:;/2009/02/mountaineer-rescued-falling-400-metres-slope-sierra-nevada/ for details.

Anyway, as we were walking steadily uphill, about half way up the 500m face we met 3 people. None had ice axes or crampons. Only one had a small rucksack with spare clothing in (or maybe his iPod and gadgets?). Safety equipment consisted of a plastic bags which they intended sliding back to the hut on!

They tried to kick steps into the hard snow so going was slow and precarious. Gingerly they edged and tiptoed their way uphill. Was this fun? It wouldn’t have been for us should they have slipped!

Ignorance, Arrogance or just plain Stupid? Maybe a combination of all three.

Another instance yesterday. I received a phone call from a person wanting information on ascending Mulhacen. They didn’t believe me when I said that it would be a 2 day trip, staying at the Poqueira Refugio, or at best a long day trip.

They wanted to know the bus times to the Mirador de Trevelez. I told them that transport couldn’t get to 2000m altitude never mind 2700m! The bus only ran July to Sept in a normal snow year. They just had no idea what they were getting into. This is worrying to say the least.

I guess education is the best way forward, but until then we shall have to accept that people will continue to disrespect and underestimate these wonderful mountains. Some may even get away with it!