Climber Survives 1,000-Foot Fall

A mountain climber in Scotland fell a thousand feet down a nearly vertical slope on a mountain called Sgurr Choinnich Mor. When a Royal Navy rescue helicopter arrived on the scene, its crew found him alive and well:

Lieutenant Tim Barker, the crew's observer, said: ''We began to hover-taxi down the slope and spotted a man at the bottom, standing up.

''We honestly thought it couldn't have been him, as he was on his feet, reading a map. Above him was a series of three high craggy outcrops.

''It seemed impossible. So we retraced our path back up the mountain and, sure enough, there were bits of his kit in a vertical line all the way up where he had obviously lost them during the fall.

''It was quite incredible. He must have literally glanced off the outcrops as he fell, almost flying.''

Link | Photo: Wikimedia Commons