"SAVED! Teenagers
found after 24 hour mountain ordeal"
Irish Mirror, 30/12/98.
Brave rescuers fought the most brutal weather in memory yesterday
to pluck three teenagers from Ireland's highest mountain. The
three, aged 16, 17 and 18, cheated death after they became trapped
on the freezing Carrauntoohil mountainside. As winds stormed,
rains lashed and temperatures fell below freezing, 15 brave mountain
rescue volunteers risked their own lives to save the stranded
trio battling the elements in a tiny wooden hut at 2,500 feet.
The three campers were stuck on the mountain for 24 hours before
they could raise the alarm. Last night as they recovered from
their ordeal, the teenagers hailed their rescuers as heroes. "We
were just so grateful to them. I was so delighted to see them
and they were really great to us", said Noel (names changed).
"They did wonders for our morale and brought us blankets
and hot drinks. I was never more grateful to see a cup-a-soup."
While the trio were filled with hot tea, rescue workers enjoyed
a welcome rest after their gruelling trek to save the hikers they
feared dead. "It was the worst we have ever seen in our lives.
The winds were hitting 70mph, it was absolutely freezing and the
rain was so heavy you couldn't see in front of your nose"
said team member Christy McCarthy. "They were 2,500 feet
up which didn't help but we knew we had to get to them immediately.
They were suffering from exposure and they needed to be warmed
up and taken off the mountain. I've never seen three faces more
delighted to see us in my life. They were very, very shaken but
in good spirits when we got them down."
The massive hunt of the Kerry mountain got underway yesterday
evening after two members of the group managed to make it down
safely and sound the alarm. The teenagers told Gardaí at
the nearby Killarney station that three of their friends were
trapped thousands of feet up in the bracing winds. They said they
had set out for a walk up Carrauntoohil mountain but hours later
realised they were stuck on the rugged hillside. Suffering from
severe dehydration and exposure they had managed to huddle together
in a small hut. As they realised the storms and biting rains were
not going to subside, two were nominated to try to make their
way down the mountain to raise the alarm.
"We had gone for a hike and on our descent down we pitched
our tent and settled down for a meal. It was then that the storms
began to rise and the wind really hit us hard" said Noel.
"We decided to collapse our tent for safety's sake as it
would have been blown away. At this stage it was late - it was
cold and dark and the conditions were appalling. We decided to
get into our survival bags to try and keep warm. At first light
we decided we would have to make progress down the mountain and
decided to go to a hut about a third of the way down. I had been
up the mountain before and I knew where it was. When we got there
we decided that because of the conditions and the appalling weather
that it would be better if we pooled and sent two of the lads
ahead. We were cold and I would have to say very afraid about
our safety. We were extremely tired as well."
Once the alarm was sounded 15 volunteers from the Kerry Mountain
Rescue Team began the operation which was to save the three lives.
Racing winds and lashing rains almost forced volunteers to give
up their efforts to save the three holidaymakers from Dublin,
who had planned to spend New Year on the rugged mountainside.
But despite what locals in the South Kerry area described as the
worst storms in human memory the brave rescuers battled on.
Sergeant Pat Lehane said "We knew that they were in good
spirits but that they were badly dehydrated. When we were informed
of the situation we immediately called the Kerry Mountain Rescue
Team who scrambled their members together. In normal conditions
there would be no problem carrying out a rescue like this as we
have a very experienced Mountain Rescue Team, but the high winds
and very heavy rainfall made the underfoot and overground conditions
very treacherous. The people who went up that mountain are totally
experienced and very dedicated. They know their job inside out
so we were confident from the beginning that we would get these
boys down alive. But the visibility was very poor, there were
incredibly high winds and heavy rainfall. It was a desperate day.
In fact the worst in my lifetime. But there was no question but
that the rescue would continue until it was successfully concluded."
The sergeant paid tribute to the volunteers involved in the Mountain
Rescue. "The members are all volunteers risking their own
lives" he said. "There is great admiration for these
people who go out in all weathers and any hour of the day or night
without even cringing. Knowing the calibre of the men out there
we were very optimistic."
Mr McCarthy also explained how the team sprang into action immediately,
out of fear for the lives of the trapped boys. "We were very
lucky that we were able to get to them as quick as we were. A
night on the mountain would have been lethal" he said. "Thankfully
they didn't need to go to hospital but they were suffering from
exposure and we had to warm them up slowly." They were last
night tucked up in bed at Killarney Youth Hostel.
