Dragons Wrath 2010

This is a good idea Intrepid, it will help highlight the importance of safety in the Berg. It just shows how one can never let ones guard down whilst hiking...

@Hermann: thanks for sharing this and glad you guys are OK! I hear you, its easy to talk it when everything is under control, even from this forum, but not when one is out there on the ground. I've always been impressed with our rescue guys - thumbs up to you!

January 31: a MCSA member on an official injured her ankle at Bushman's Neck and was carried out on a horse organised by local protection services and KZN Wildlife.
Source: KZN MCSA Newsletter April-June 2010

The above newsletter also reports alerts about a missing aircraft in the Berg, as well as a day hiker missing in the Cobham area, which in the end did not require their services.

April 03: Leonie Hecter, injured her ankle near Keartlands Pass, Monks Cowl. She was evacuated on horseback and taken to hospital.
Source: IOL news article www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=139&art_id=vn20100406043528665C910483

April 05: Annie Reitz was airlifted from Cowl Fork , Monk's Cowl, after slipping and breaking her ankle.
Source:
* personal account by her partner, Hermann Kühne, on this thread: www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/8-drakensberg-hiking/1010-easter-weekend-activities.html?limit=6&start=18#1075
* IOL news article: www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=139&art_id=vn20100406043528665C910483
* Details provided by the pilot who flew the helicopter on this thread: www.avcom.co.za/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=61126

late April: Gavin Raubenheimer had almost completed a guiding trip up Cathedral Peak and was about an hour from the end when he was bitten by a puff adder. He was airlifted to a hospital, to be released 3 days later, while his client was dropped off at the Cathedral Peak Hotel.
Source: peakhigh.co.za/blog/?p=815

24 June: a 20 year old woman was airlifted via an Oryx helicopter from Stimela Ridge, Mnweni. She was part of a group of 11 hikers all in their 20's. She had fallen ill during the trip, apparently with a possible ruptured abdomen. The leader phoned Gavin Raubenheimer, who consulted with a doctor, and it was decided that her condition was serious and that she was in no condition to walk out. She is reported to be in a stable condition, and the rest of the group completed their hike.
Source: IOL

23 March: an ill teenager, suffering from altitude sickness (as diagnosed later), was airlifted by SAPS Airwing Squirrel, manned by MCSA and EMRS personel, off the escarpment near the Little Saddle, Cathedral Peak.

28 April: a 57-year old male with an injured ankle was airlifted from a narrow gully on Leslies Pass, Injasuthi. The information from the call on the previous day was that he was at the the bottom of the pass. When the MCSA and EMRS crew flew out in a SAPS Airwing Squirrel helicopter they discovered he was actually half way up the pass and difficult to access. They flew to Giants Castle and requested an Air Force Oryx helicopter, which then picked up the crew and the rescue was successfully carried out.

30 April: a suspected smuggler, who had been shot, was airlifted off Ntonjelana Pass, Mnweni by SAPS Airwing.

Source: KZN MCSA Newsletter July-September 2010

The above newsletter also provides further details on the Annie Reitz rescue, as well as a detailed account of Gavin Raubenheimer's snakebite incident.

The morning after the Sentinel Centenary Climb, while most of us where still at Witsieshoek Resort, Gavin Raubenheimer and others where called out for a rescue on Cathedral Peak. Apparently a group of hikers were camping near Bugger Gully at the base of the peak when a fire ravaged their campsite. In trying to run away, one of them fell to his death off a cliff. I don't have further details at this stage.

From Vertical Endeavour, I wish to extend condolences to the group of hikers, as well as to the friends and family of the deceased.

While we were still at the resort, a helicopter was sent to pick up Tony van Tonder and Gerald Camp, as well as more gear needed for the retrieval.
{joomplu:333}