Wyre Forest climber dies in mountain fall (From Kidderminster Shuttle)
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Wyre Forest climber dies in mountain fall
4:29pm Thursday 23rd February 2012 in Local
Climber: Paul Guest, who has died after falling on Ben Nevis.
A WYRE FOREST climber has died after falling 1,000ft on the UK's highest mountain.
Paul Guest died on Sunday after the fall on Ben Nevis.
Mr Guest, 32, was climbing with David Warden, who also fell but survived.
Police said the 46-year-old, who lives in Perth, is in a serious condition at Belford Hospital, Fort William.
Lochaber Mountain Rescue and an RAF helicopter were called to the scene at around 11am on Sunday.
Rescuer John Stevenson said earlier this week: "The conditions were excellent and all their gear was good. They had done everything right.
"We're assuming one had an accident and fell off and that was it."
He said the men fell by as much as 1,148ft (350m).
Ben Nevis is 4,409ft (1,344m) high and attracts around 125,000 visitors a year.
Did you know Mr Guest? Leave your tributes below or contact reporter Cadisha Brown on 01562 633341 or email cadisha.brown@kidderminstershuttle.co.uk
cprice says...
5:26am Fri 24 Feb 12
1) I was ascending CMD Arete with two friends when this happened and looked over in awe at these guys climbing Zero Gully just prior to their fall. They were attempting a very difficult route which demands considerabl
e mountaineering experience and the kind of bravery you don't find on the 'tourist route'. This, as usual, is not portrayed in the report. At this time of year Ben Nevis demands the upmost respect as do the climbers.
2)There must be a way of stopping journalists writing this sort of thoughtless, identikit report of climbing accidents. There are literally hundreds of winter climbs on Ben Nevis, ranging from gentle ambles to vertical ice. These climbers weren't "scaling" Ben Nevis; nor "conquering" it (no one except journalists ever uses those verbs). They were on Zero Gully, which is steep to vertical ice. People don't go up Zero unless they know what they're doing. The report gives the impression that they were like a pair of urchins shinning up a church spire for a dare. That is likely to be a completely false impression, and one that doesn't treat their tragic misfortune with sufficient respect.
He was a talented climber who had been all over the world climbing mountains! such a loss, but taken away doing something he loved. Goodbye Paul you will be deeply missed.