Abseiler injured on Skye taken to hospital following 16-hour rescue operation

A climber was taken to hospital following a 16 hour rescue operation after suffering an injury when abseiling off a mountain.

The man got into difficulty on Sgurr Dubh Beag in Skye late on Sunday evening and made contact with Skye’s mountain rescue team after injuring his shoulder.

Deploying 15 team members, the rescue squad was dropped off by helicopter onto Dubh’s ridge, where they made contact with the casualty and put him on a stretcher.

Following a seven-and-a-half hour descent from the mountain, a boat trip, and finally a bus ride, the injured party was transferred to a medical facility for treatment.

Neil Urquhart, Skye mountain rescue team leader, paid tribute to the casualty for being so “uncomplaining” during the arduous journey.

He said: “An epic call-out started on Sunday evening with a helicopter lift onto the Dubh’s ridge and ended on Monday morning with a boat trip and bus ride back to Glen Brittle from Elgol. Altogether 15 team members were deployed by Coastguard R948 to rescue a climber who had been injured abseiling from Sgurr Dubh Beag.

“After reaching and treating the casualty, a seven and half-hour descent to Coruisk involved plenty of technical work, difficult route finding and back-breaking stretcher hauling down a notoriously difficult hillside, with a serious lack of communications after midnight.

“A huge 16+ hour effort by the team involved, who were very grateful to those who remained at base and anticipated and organized the return transport and food, Sligachan Hotel, Tigh Ailean and Carbost Old Inn who all provided quality supplies at short notice, and especially to Bella Jane Boat Trips who came out before dawn to pick us up from Coruisk.

“Best wishes to the casualty for a swift recovery to his shoulder injury- not many people would have been so uncomplaining during the hours he spent bouncing around on our stretcher.”