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Pensioner rescued on her final mountain climb All ended
well for an Irish pensioner who went missing after making an attempt to
climb Ireland’s highest mountain one last time.
The 82-year-old woman was at the centre of a major search and rescue operation
but was eventually located safe and sound about halfway down 1,040-metre
Carrantuohill by the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team after spending over 12
hours on the mountain.
The alarm has been raised earlier when she and a 16-year-old family friend
had not returned home.
The pair had been hiking earlier with the pensioner’s son.
The sprightly octogenarian was in good spirits and even sang a song for
her rescue team as they descended to safety.
Kerry Mountain Rescue Team spokesperson Brendan Coffey said: “By
the time we got to them, they had spent well over 12 hours on the mountain
at that stage.”
“She was chatting away and was even able to gives us a blast of
a song when we were walking down.”
“It was her third time climbing Carrantuohill he last time was
13 years ago. But she wanted to do it one more time.”
Difficulties emerged after the party had climbed-up the Devil’s Ladder
route but then decided to descent a different side of the mountain.
Speaking on RTÉ radio Mr Coffey said the woman wasn’t quite
sure of the terrain she was on but despite that she had managed to complete
the trickiest part of the descent.
He said: “Anytime we can leave the stretcher unassembled, it is
a good night. If I can do that when I’m 82, I’ll be one happy
man.”
The Kerry Mountain Rescue Team is one of the busiest in the country and
receives most of their annual callouts during the summer.
Carrantuohill is located in Co. Kerry and at 3,409 is the highest peak
in Ireland.
The mountain is most often climbed from the north-east, along the Hag’s
Glen to the col between Carrauntoohill and Cnoc na Péiste, and
then north-west up the steep Devil’s Ladder.
The weather conditions on the mountain are very changeable and there have
been a number of deaths. |
