Rescue on mountain
2006-09-21
A HIGHLY experienced mountaineer narrowly escaped death after plummeting approximately 15 metres down Bretagne Rock on Paarl Mountain.
The incident occurred late on Sunday afternoon when Ulrich Deutschlander and a group of rock-climbers were scaling the famous granite domes.
Deutschlander fell on the Cape Town side of the rock whilst descending, apparently because the length of the rope was not sufficient to reach the bottom.
One of Deutschlander’s fellow climbers notified the rescue services who sent an emergency helicopter to the scene.
In a joint effort between the rock-climbers, paramedics, firemen and police, the injured mountaineer was stabilised, then airlifted to Paarl Medi-Clinic for treatment.
He sustained broken ribs, head wounds and a bruised hip.
Deutchlander, chairman of the Hottentots Holland Mountain Club, was himself involved in the rescue operation in Du Toit’s Kloof the day before, after another climber fell to his death.
The accident happened when two mountaineers from Cape Town, Dr Lloyd Turner and Johann Papendorp, started scaling a rock-face late on Friday afternoon.
Weather conditions deteriorated, but they continued their climb up the cliff, planning to spend the evening in a cave before continuing the climb on Saturday morning.
According to Papendorp, Turner slipped on a ledge and plunged about 150 metres to his death.
He was able to contact the police, the Wilderness Search and Rescue and various members of the Mountain Club, including Ulrich, and an intensive rescue operation was launched.
Papendorp was brought to safety early on Saturday morning, after which Turner's body was retrieved.
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