TORONTO -- A 16-year-old Canadian climber is in hospital with a broken leg after falling over 150 metres down Oregon鈥檚 Mount Hood and enduring an eight-hour rescue.
Experienced climber Gurbaz Singh was ascending the state鈥檚 highest point with friends on Wednesday -- well on his way to completing his 98th climb-- when about 100 metres from the summit, disaster struck and Singh fell.
鈥淚 was trying to use all of the things that I had learned [to stop], but I lost my ice axe and I wasn鈥檛 able to stop my tumble, because as you tumble you gain more momentum,鈥� the B.C. resident said from his hospital bed in a Skype interview with 麻豆影视 Wednesday night.
Unable to stop himself falling down the side of the mountain, Singh fell from the 鈥淧early Gates鈥� section of the climb down to a section known as the 鈥淒evil鈥檚 Kitchen.鈥�
Mel Olson, a climber who was on the mountain with Singh and saw the accident, said 鈥渋t was horrible.鈥�
鈥淚 got out of the way and he just went down,鈥� Olson said.
Singh said that people were able to reach him 鈥渞elatively quickly鈥� after the fall, and that while he was hanging upside down for a time, some EMT personnel who were also on the mountain helped him 鈥済et through the initial pain鈥� of the fall.
鈥淭hey really helped me, they literally saved my life,鈥� Singh said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 thank them enough.鈥�
Singh also credits his training and wearing a helmet as reasons why his injuries weren鈥檛 more severe.
鈥淲e looked at my helmet afterwards and it was just destroyed鈥鈥檓 so lucky,鈥� he said.
Rescuers located Singh and managed to splint his leg, then began the slow descent down the mountain four hours after his initial fall.
The agency that the rescue would be several hours long 鈥渄ue to the location and elevation.鈥�
鈥淭his is a technical mountain, this isn鈥檛 a Sunday stroll,鈥� said Lt. Brian Jenson of the Clackamas County Sheriff鈥檚 Office. 鈥淚t鈥檚 inherently dangerous.鈥�
Singh鈥檚 father Rishamdeep said that he was 鈥渟o humbled鈥� and 鈥済rateful鈥� to the rescuers, calling them heroes.
Singh has reported that he is faring well in hospital and can get around on crutches, but will be easing back into climbing once he is fully recovered.
鈥淚鈥檓 still processing everything,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 taking it one day at a time, trying to get back up on my feet.鈥�
Approximately 10,000 attempts are made by climbers to summit Mount Hood annually. Rescuers are called in about 70 times a year.
With files from CNN
