When it all goes wrong …

by Mike Garrett

If you’ve been around in the mountains for long enough, you’ve probably made some mistakes. Provided you learn from these, it can be positive, and make you safer in the future. But try not to make any really serious mistakes…!

Here are a few highlights from over 50 years’ experience in the mountains.

Dolomites, long ago

It’s hard to imagine now, but once there were no mobile phones, and we used waist belays, modern friction devices not being invented.

Six of us were climbing a rock route as three pairs. As second in the first pair, I was belaying the leader. He fell, his runner pulled, and I held the fall. The good news: we had a GP (doctor) in the party; the bad news: he was the casualty. No serious injuries, but it seemed that his arms were out of action.

A few months before I had been at Plas y Brenin, lowering stretchers and casualties. So I was volunteered to organise the retreat, using a “Tragsitz”. We had a strong person to support the casualty, plus 3 ropes (although one significantly melted from friction around my back). One rope to Strongman, another to the casualty who sat in the coils of the third damaged rope that Strongman wore over his shoulders. That, plus some abseils, and we all escaped safely.

Lesson: It helps to have some knowledge of self-rescue.

Several days later, four of us climbed the Marmolada (3343m) via its west ridge. This is a Klettersteig, but the overhead conditions seemed like “full Scottish winter”, and we were cutting the cables out of the ice with our axes. Our GP had one arm in a sling.

Switzerland, also long ago

If visiting the Alps many people can manage at most a fortnight. This makes acclimatisation a challenge, especially for the western Alps.

Three of us were descending from the summit of a peak. We were tired. On a glacier we let our minds wander, and slack develop in the rope. The leader (Chris) fell into a hidden crevasse and jammed. We knew the techniques, but lacked the experience to free him. Our third party member managed to reach the hut. Up came a mountain guide with some helpers, and he quickly extracted Chris. Chris was still able to clip the rope lowered to him, but he was very cold. It had been a close call.

Lessons: In descent, maintain concentration even if you are tired. And on glaciers, keep that rope taut!

Observatory Ridge, Ben Nevis, 1980s.

If you’ve climbed enough on Ben Nevis in winter, there’s a chance you’ve had an epic. And very likely to have walked in or out in the dark, and maybe climbed in the dark as well.

Malcolm and I had already had a shot at the ridge, but retreated. Now we were keen to succeed. The grade was a good step up from what we had led ourselves before (eg Tower Ridge). There were several on the NE Buttress and Tower Ridge, however we were the only team on the ridge so it felt lonely. We were slow. Low down I took a short fall when climbing a rock step in crampons. At one point both our headtorches failed. Malcolm had a spare torch, simplifying changing batteries. There was a good moon, but frustratingly its light retreated as we climbed higher. We reached the plateau safely, but very tired mentally and physically.

Lessons: We had driven up from England on the Friday evening after work, and decided to go for the route the next day after a very short night’s sleep. We were not due to head home until the Monday, so would better have done something easier and shorter on the Saturday.

The North East face of Ben Nevis in winter.
The red line points up Observatory Ridge, with NE Buttress to its left, and Tower Ridge to its right.
Photo via Vincent Lowe / Alamy Stock Photo.

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