The Guardia Civil, Mountain-Rescue unit, GREIM, was called out to rescue a Belgian woman trapped on a metal-wrung, cliff-face route.
The Guardia Civil, Mountain-Rescue unit, Greim, were called out to rescue a Belgian woman trapped on a cliff face.
The 35-year-old victim had become stuck on this climb in Quéntar after running out of steam and then becoming nervous – she had already spent an hour ascending to get to where she was and now she was completely exhausted .
The rescue team were soon at the scene and managed to calm her down ( the drop was getting to her) and bring her safely down.
The very professional, Granada-based team (who are recognised as one of the best in Spain) are no strangers to this climbing route, as they have previously carried out five rescue missions there.
As a climbing category, the route is considered a K3, which is for beginners, yet, in reality the route has sections that are far more difficult than the K3 classification indicates. Experts agree that the category should be elevated to K4 because of this. It was on one of the more difficult sections that the woman became stuck.
According to Wikipedia: A via ferrata (Italian for “iron path”, plural vie ferrate or in English via ferratas) is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other Alpine locations. The protection includes steel fixtures such as cables and railings to arrest the effect of any fall, which the climber can either hold onto or clip into using climbing protection. Some via ferrata can also include steel fixtures that provide aid in overcoming the obstacles encountered, including steel ladders and steel steps. The term “via ferrata” is used in most countries and languages except notably in German-speaking regions, which use Klettersteig—”climbing path” (plural Klettersteige).
(News: Quentar, Vega, Granada, Andalucia)