Outdoor enthusiasts have been urged to exercise extra caution while a foreign rock climber is currently recovering after falling and injuring himself in Cape Town.
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Dedicated teams of professionals and volunteers from Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) responded to Ou Kaapse Weg near Steenberg on Tuesday afternoon.
The 35-year-old visiting climber and eight others were climbing at The Mine, a steep and overhanging sport climbing crag on the mountain above the Silvermine Military Base.
A crag is a rock climbing area, typically found on dominant rock features like buttresses or cliff faces, with one or more climbing routes on it. Sport climbing routes have safety anchors bolted into the rock.
According to reports, the climber was nearing the third bolt on a route called Locomotion when he fell approximately 15 metres, tumbling down past the start of the route.
Realising the climber had injured himself, a member of the group immediately called the emergency number at 021 937 0300.
Teams of rescuers quickly hiked up to the fallen climber.
He was treated by a paramedic before rescuers moved him onto a rescue stretcher.
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The rescue team again deployed the Cascade Rescue Company Terra Tamer stretcher wheel.
Together with a rope safety system, the wheel allowed the team to safely move the stretchered patient over the broken ground, from the crag back down to the hiking trail.
Rescuers carried him back down the trail to the parking area. He was transferred to a waiting ambulance and driven to the hospital.
The incident was concluded at 8:40pm.
David Nel, a spokesperson for Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR), said, ‘Rock climbing is generally a safe activity with a strong focus on buddy-check safety.’
In the last 15 years, Wilderness Search and Rescue has responded to only 68 rock climbing-related incidents, or roughly 3% of rescues annually.
‘No injuries were reported in 28 of these callouts.
‘We encourage anyone curious about the sport, to visit one of the many rock climbing gyms in Cape Town, or hire a qualified climbing guide, to help to show them the ropes.’
‘We wish the patient a speedy recovery’, Nel said.
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Picture: Fredy Mohorich / WSAR