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.

Warnings have been given to ensure the use of crampons and that they are properly fitted. There has been a weather warning for the next 24 hours for low temperatures which could get down to -9° C.  See weather forecast for Mulhacen

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 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!

They had tried to leave the hut to get to safety on a few occasions but the bad weather over the period and dense fog hampered their progress. There is also a lot of ice reported in the area. The rescue was assisted by a snow plough from the Sierra Nevada ski centre at Pradollano. The men were transferred to hospital in Granada.

If coming out to visit the Sierra Nevada as part of our mountaineering, trekking, skiing or walking activity holidays, relevant insurances should be obtained. There are many providers. Loads of choice. Which is the best?

We have found one of the best to be through membership of the Austrian Alpine Club. Rates for varying membership categories differ, but the most you will pay is about EUR 42 for a years membership, including insurance cover (2009 Rates). Good value!

What is covered through the Austrian Alpine Club?
AWS Annual Alpine Association Worldwide Rescue and Repatriation Insurance. Basically world wide cover, excepting peaks of over 6000m and the Polar or Greenland regions.

Rescue Costs up to EUR 22,000 per person. Rescue costs are understood as those costs of local rescue organisations incurred when the insured person has suffered an accident, or must be rescued, whether injured or uninjured, from mountain or aquatic distress (the same also applies in the case of fatalities).

Rescue costs are deemed the demonstrable costs incurred in searching for and transporting the injured person to the nearest road open to traffic or to the hospital nearest the site of the accident. Helicopter costs will only be paid if the helicopter deployment is sanctioned by the authorized administration of a regional rescue centre.

The full leaflet regarding insurance covered (including the small print) is to be found here at http://www.aacuk.org.uk/Files/AWS_English.pdf. This needs to be read in full before making a decision on the cover.

Reciprocal Rights

To the best of our knowledge the following have reciprocal rights for reduced Poqueira Refugio overnight and meal fees:
Federacion Andaluza de Montanismo
Austrian Alpine Club
Deutscher Alpenverein
Club Alpin Francais
Italian Alpine Club
Club Alpin Swiss

The affiliations normally run from January to December each year and are very good value. Rather surprisingly, the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) does not have these reciprocal rights with Andalucian huts.

By showing your affiliated card the price of a nights stay at the Poqueira hut drops from about EUR 15 to EUR 8 and a similar drop is experienced in meal costs.

If only climbing or trekking in Andalucia I would recommend the Federacion Andaluza de Montanismo. As we climb throughout the world we use the Austrian Alpine Club.

The Guardia Civil was called at 15.30 Sunday last. One of the mountaineers had fallen in the Corral del Veleta, located in the El Canuto area, known as Canaleja. The rescue efforts were complicated by bad weather in the area where blizzards, snow and poor visibility prevented the use of helicopters.

Finally, the Guardia Civil went on foot to the site of the accident. The climber was taken to hospital with multiple injuries in Granada. The work continued with the rescue of the three other mountaineers, who were disoriented and rescued them at 6 monday morning with the transfer of all to the clinic at Pradollano, where they have were attended for symptoms of hypothermia. The area had temperatures at night of down to -12 degrees.

CETURSA, the public company that manages the ski resort of Sierra Nevada, lent one of its ski piste machines to the Guardia Civil to get to the shoulder of Los Posiciones de Veleta.