A LAKE District mountaineer is at the centre of a high-altitude rescue mission to evacuate an injured climber from Mount Everest, reports Rachel Kitchen.

Dave Pritt, 44, director of Bowness mountain expedition company Adventure Peaks, is co-ordinating the rescue of one of his clients, who broke his ankle en route to the 8,848-metre summit.

He is being assisted by his girlfriend and business partner Jill Pinkerton, at their home in Bowness, and the British Consulate in Nepal.

Mr Pritt broke the news of the accident to Miss Pinkerton by satellite telephone at 5am on Wednesday. She told the Gazette it appeared the injured climber, Conan Harrod, 34, from Cheadle, slipped when a climber from another team lost his balance and dislodged the ropes they were using to scale the Northeast Ridge.

"I knew as soon as I spoke to Dave it was going to be bad news," Miss Pinkerton told the Gazette.

"As soon as he told me, it was relief that it wasn't Dave, but then I was upset at the fact that it was one of our team. So it was two lots of mixed emotions."

The yearly Everest expeditions offered by Adventure Peaks are unguided, with Mr Pritt acting as expedition leader to advise on weather, co-ordinate the Sherpas and get everything into place for clients to summit.

Earlier this week Mr Pritt returned to Advance Base Camp with two clients who were too fatigued for the summit bid.

But the three remaining clients - Mr Harrod, an Australian and an American - set off for the summit in the early hours of Wednesday. It is believed Mr Harrod fell around 400 metres short of the summit, in what is called "the death zone".

Mr Pritt learned of the accident by radio and implemented a full-scale rescue. While Mr Harrod hopped and crawled down, helped by his two fellow climbers and constant oxygen, Mr Pritt radioed other teams and Sherpas for help, and climbed back up to the North Col to co-ordinate the rescue.

Yesterday (Thursday), Sherpas were carrying Mr Harrod back down to the North Col, from where Mr Pritt will lead the steep descent to Advance Base Camp.

The team was expected to continue its descent through the night, and arrive back at Base Camp in Tibet, with the help of yaks, around midday today (Friday) Nepal time, which is five hours ahead of the UK.

The British Consulate in Nepal has arranged a helicopter to be on standby at Base Camp to fly Mr Harrod out to Kathmandu on Saturday. If the chopper cannot fly he will be driven out by jeep.

"Conan throughout it has been conscious, and has been in full spirits," said Miss Pinkerton, who has been in constant contact with the climbers' families. "He's a very strong man, a strong, competent mountaineer. Conan owes his life to his team members and to the Sherpas."

Miss Pinkerton said her partner had put "every effort" into getting everybody down Everest safely, and this was his fourth expedition on the world's highest mountain last year he made it to the summit. "He knows that mountain extremely well, and he's quite remarkable," she said.

Mr Pritt is expected back home on June 4, after heading back up Everest with his other clients and Sherpas to clear their camps. He and Miss Pinkerton intend to return to Everest next year with eight more clients.

Barden's People feature on 50th anniversary of first

ascent on Everest in Features.

Visit Features - Web Watch for a list of top adventure sites for mountain bikers and climbers.

May 23, 2003 09:00