A woman who climbed one of Britain’s highest mountains to scatter her father’s ashes had to be rescued after falling on her descent, she told yesterday.
Kitty Harrison bid an emotional farewell to her late father Steve Parry at the 3,000ft (917m) peak of Tryfan in Snowdonia before losing her footing on her way down.
She plummeted down a sheer rock face and was left clinging to a tiny ledge, balanced precariously over a 300ft (91m) drop for three hours while she waited for rescue.
Conditions got so grim that the trainee dental nurse feared she would fall before rescuers could reach her, she said.
Mrs Harrison, 32, said the Welsh peak had been her father’s favourite spot before his sudden death in 2021, aged 56.
Kitty Harrison (pictured), 32, bid an emotional farewell to her late father Steve Parry at the 3,000ft (917m) peak of Tryfan in Snowdonia before losing her footing on her way down
She plummeted down a sheer rock face and was left clinging to a tiny ledge, balanced precariously over a 300ft (91m) drop for three hours while she waited for rescue
The nature conservation worker had spoken of wanting his ashes to be scattered there and the family, from Wolverhampton, had enjoyed frequent holidays to north Wales to enjoy the countryside and stunning mountain views.
Mrs Harrison, an experienced climber, set out with her father’s ashes in June 2022 and reached the peak safely.
She told the BBC: ‘I felt a real sense of achievement when getting to the top to fulfil his final request … Then as I came down I slipped and carried on falling.’ She said she did not know how far she fell, but said it was ‘quite a way’ before she landed on a ledge over a precipice.
She told the BBC’s SOS: Extreme Rescues programme: ‘My foot slipped on the loose shingle and I slipped quite a way and I landed on a tiny ledge.
‘If I hadn’t gone down that side, I’d have gone straight down the mountain and I’m not sure I’d be here today.’ Mountain rescuers eventually located her using her phone’s GPS signal and spotters from a coastguard helicopter.
But her precarious position meant they could not reach her until the rescuers climbed further above her and abseiled down.
Mrs Harrison said she was terrified to move in case she slipped and fell again.
She said: ‘I was worried no-one had seen me … You go from hope to proper doom, to fear that no-one is going to find me.
BBC cameras were filming with the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue team, one of the busiest in Britain
Mountain rescuers eventually located her using her phone’s GPS signal and spotters from a coastguard helicopter (Stock Photo)
‘As time went on, I was shivering, cold and damp and couldn’t move a muscle, but because of the exercise climbing up the mountain, my legs were tired and shaking. I thought I could fall off here before they find me.’ BBC cameras were filming with the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue team, one of the busiest in Britain.
Mrs Harrison said: ‘When the rescuers said, “There’s BBC cameras with us,” part of me thought I don’t care who’s with you just get me off this mountain.
‘The other part thought, that’s typical, I have one bad day and that’s the day the BBC decided to come and see me.
‘I’d also ripped my leggings when I fell and I was like “Please don’t put my bum on the telly” – my Mum would’ve killed me.’
SOS: Extreme Rescues is available on BBC iPlayer.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
247
