Climber falls 1,000 feet down Highlands mountain and lives

A CLIMBER who survived a 1,000ft tumble down a mountain yesterday joked that he’d had worse injuries shaving.

Adam Potter, 36, bounced off three rocky outcrops as he fell down a nearly-vertical cliff in the Scottish Highlands.

Then rescuers ignored him because when they spotted him he was standing on his feet, reading a map.

Amazingly, Adam, who fell from the summit of Sgurr Choinnich Mor, still plans to climb Mount Everest later this year. He said: “I just slipped. Speed built up really fast and every time I tried to slow myself I went over a cliff edge.

“Then I would land on a slopier bit and try to lose speed and then go over another cliff and so on.

“I had almost lost all my speed, when I saw I was about to go over one more cliff, and I thought that might have been the end.”

Knocked unconscious, Adam woke and started to read his map which is when the chopper rescue crew arrived – and flew on.

Lt Tim Barke said: “We spotted a man at the bottom and thought t couldn’t be him, as he was on his feet reading a map.” Finally believing that he was their man, they winched him to safety.

Lt Barke added: “He must have he fell, almost flying.” He is lucky to be alive. It’s hard to believe someone could fall that distance and been able to stand up.”

Speaking from Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, Adam who was with his girlfriend Kate Berry, 30, said: “The only thought as I fell was ‘this is going to muck up my Everest trip.’

“My back is broken in three places but not the places that put you in a wheelchair. And my face is a bit mucked up, but I’ve had worse shaving.”

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http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/01/31/climber-falls-1-000-feet-down-highlands-mountain-and-lives-115875-22887540/#ixzz1CaP34OBK