Posted on 03/11/2013 9:21:18 PM PDT by JoeProBono
CAERNARFON, Wales, - A climber in Wales said he suffered injuries to his ankles in a 100-foot slide down a frozen gully on Snowdon, the country's tallest mountain,
Mark Roberts said he was climbing the Parsley Fern Gully in the Gwynedd region when he lost his balance due to a large piece of ice falling, The Mirror reported Monday.
Roberts said he bounced off rocks and put his arms up to shield himself from ice during the plunge -- and ended up with just ankle injuries.
The climber wore a head camera and footage of his fall was posted online.
"I was a little dazed but ... not unconscious," Roberts said.
"The speed at which events took hold meant I knew it was going to go some distance," he said.
"There was no feeling of panic, more a concerted effort to protect my head and neck and be aware of what was below me, where I was heading and what I could do to slow and stop myself before I got to the more serious rocky outcrops.
"Interestingly, I had the foresight to check the cam was still attached and just hoped the vid had recorded that: It wasn't one for repeating!"
Rescuers said Roberts' helmet likely saved his life.
I had an event like that, sort of, when I was a teenager. We were visiting relatives doing botanical experiments in the Rockies. I stepped out onto a snow patch to get my picture taken. I was wearing these slick-bottom shoes and just started sliding. But I was on my feet. I probably traveled between 50 to 80 feet, standing up, and thinking “this is is fun,” till I realized the snow patch ended just below. So I got down into a feet-first slide and stopped just in time. Then I was scolded about how others had often been seriously injured by this kind of thing. It was God who got me through my youth. And then there’s the way I used to drive ... but never mind.
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“There was no feeling of panic, more a concerted effort to protect my head and neck and be aware of what was below...”
I would have recommended panicking. He was very lucky.
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