Air Cadet Instructor in second mountain rescue

This is not the first time Flight Lieutenant Close-Ash has been involved in saving a life on mountains. He won a prestigious award for a rescue in the Pyrenees just under two years ago.

Flight Lieutenant Close-Ash, aged 33, Sector Commander of the Durham and Northumberland Wing of the Air Cadets, which manages 36 Air Training Corps squadrons in the north east of England, was with a group of walkers at the beginning of this month climbing a mountain in Glencoe when he came across a stricken climber who had plunged from a slippery, ice-strewn, narrow mountain path.

Although she was with three friends who had dragged her out of a stream at the end of her fall, she was in great pain, shivering, and lapsing into unconsciousness, having shattered bones in her arm and shoulder by hitting rocks as she tumbled down the mountainside.

Flight Lieutenant Close-Ash, whose full time job is assistant head teacher at Bedlington Community High School in Northumberland, realised he faced a race against time to stop the woman from deteriorating further. He and his fellow climbers abandoned their bid for the summit of the 3,658-foot (1,115m) mountain to give her first aid and prepare her for the arrival of rescue services.

Her injuries included a punctured lung, and she was made as comfortable as possible until a Royal Navy Search and Rescue Sea King helicopter arrived from HMS Gannet in Prestwick.

She was flown to Belford Hospital, Fort William, transferred to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, and is now recovering from her injuries.

Flight Lieutenant Close-Ash said:

"We were climbing Stob Coire nan Lochan mountain in Glencoe when I saw the woman. She was sitting next to a river with blood on her face after being injured on rocks on the way down - she was very confused and scared. Her friends had a basic knowledge of what to do, but it was uncoordinated and she had been lying there on the snow for about 30 minutes, advancing the likelihood of hypothermia.

"After I reached her I assessed her injuries and decided we could move her to a more sheltered area and await a mountain rescue team or search and rescue helicopter.

"Some wanted to check on the progress of the rescuers further down the hill so I gave them a precise grid reference to pass on. These aspects are all part of the leadership training we give to Air Cadets.

"It's a dangerous area for walkers and it's easy to hurt yourself. The women and her party were experienced climbers, kitted out with the right equipment and clothes for the time of year, including crampons and thermals - they were just unlucky that one slipped and tumbled an incredible 250ft [76m]."

The latest life-saving incident involving Flight Lieutenant Close-Ash comes less than two years after he led a dramatic rescue operation to save seven ill-equipped tourists who were just minutes from death.

On that occasion he was with cadets from his former Air Training Corps, 346 (Tynemouth) Squadron, scaling Pic du Canigou mountain in the French Pyrenees. After spotting patches of blood-soaked snow, Flight Lieutenant Close-Ash and his determined cadets led a three-hour rescue mission.

Five more tourists were spotted on a ledge 600m above, wearing only shorts and T-shirts in the sub-zero conditions. Along with his cadets, Flight Lieutenant Close-Ash led the stricken climbers half-way down the mountain before official rescue teams arrived.

Following the Pyrenees rescue efforts, Flight Lieutenant Close-Ash was presented with the Life Saving Medal of the Order of St John - a silver medal which has been awarded to only 170 people in the last 100 years.

Confirmed by the Queen in October, the medal is awarded to someone who shows 'a conspicuous act of gallantry while endangering his own life'.

Despite the latest incident, Flight Lieutenant Close-Ash plays down suggestions that he is a hero.

He said:

"As she was airlifted from the scene, the woman just said thanks as the winch line pulled her up and she disappeared into the helicopter. The guys from HMS Gannet were absolutely brilliant - the winchman decided her condition was such that he did not want to await the MRT [Mountain Rescue Team] but immediately winched her up and flew her off the mountain.

"A crew member from the helicopter turned to me and gave me the thumbs-up and it was satisfying to know we had done as much as we could.

"Time flies when your adrenaline is pumping - I'm relieved everything worked out as it did; it could have been a lot worse for the victim.

"The Pyrenees' rescue and this latest event show how important it is to be prepared, and that's what we teach in the Air Cadets."

See more stories about Flight Lieutenant Close-Ash's previous rescue under Related News.