A Perthshire climber who survived a terrifying 1,000ft fall from Ben Nevis has returned home from hospital after a week.
David Warden, from Stanley, near Perth, was scaling Zero Gully near the mountain’s peak with climbing partner, Paul Guest. Although they were roped together, Mr Warden (46) survived but Mr Guest (32) from Kidderminster, died at the scene.
Following almost a week at Ninewells Hopsital in Dundee, Mr Warden returned home on Friday night to complete his recovery.
Although he did not want to comment at the weekend, his wife Lynne said: ”My husband just wants to recover now. It will be a slow recovery but he is getting there.
”We know the people involved in his rescue and will thank them personally when we are able to do so. We also want to thank all the people at Ninewells Hospital because they have been fantastic.”
Mr Warden, an experienced climber who had mounted expeditions across Europe, was tackling one of Ben Nevis’s most popular ice climbs when disaster struck a week past Sunday.
Following their plunge, another party nearby was alerted to their plight by Mr Warden’s screams. They alerted the rescue services and the stricken pair were lifted off the mountain by an RAF Sea King helicopter.
Exact details of how the pair fell have not been revealed.
Mr Guest had tackled mountains across the world, including many in the Himalayas and in Bolivia as well as Mont Blanc, The Matterhorn and The Eiger.
During a 2009 trip he was part of the second ever British team to attempt Nanda Devi East in the Himalayas, but they had to give up after the conditions became too dangerous.