A climber is lucky to be alive after falling 1000ft down a mountain.

Astonishingly, when helicopter rescuers found the man, he was standing up and looking at his map.

Adam Potter, 35, from Glasgow, reached the summit of the 3589ft Sgurr Choinnich Mor on Saturday afternoon. The peak is about five miles east of Ben Nevis.

But he lost his footing and fell down the steep and craggy eastern slope.

He broke his back in three places, but was still able to walk.

Mr Potter was climbing with three friends and his dog when he fell. He said: “We got to an area where it is a bit more slippy and a bit icier.

“I said, ‘Let's get our crampons on and get the axes out behind that rock.’

“And as I walked towards the rock I slipped.”

Mr Potter, a landfill site manager, said he was extremely lucky to be alive.

He explained how he fell down the side of the mountain over a series of cliff edges.

“"Towards the end I had almost lost all of my speed. Then I saw what I was about to go over, which was one more cliff, and I thought that would be it. I thought that might have been the end on that one.”

However, he survived and was found by rescuers at 2600ft – meaning the distance he fell was almost 1000ft.

A Royal Navy Sea King helicopter from HMS Gannet in Ayrshire was already airborne for training and flew to the scene, arriving at 2.35pm.

Lieutenant Tim Barker from the rescue crew said: "We 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.”

"It was quite incredible. He must have literally glanced off the outcrops as he fell.”

Mr Potter was taken to the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow for treatment.

But he said would not be put off climbing in future.

He said: “I will be a little bit more cautious next time and perhaps a little bit safer.

“But I could have slipped on the pavement going out the front door.

"The only difference is the consequences of slipping up there are greater because of the distance you can fall.”